from  the  ^Books  of 
CDary  J.  £.  CDcDonald 


IN  MEMOfclAM 

Mary   J.   L.   Me  Donald 


Copyright,  1913,  by 

DOUBLEDAY,  PAGE    &    COMPANY 

ll  tights  reserved,  including  that  of 
'  translation  frit &  $yr$ign  languages, 
''including  'the  -Scandinavian 

,  fflirBY  T^E  CURTIS  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 


\  c-  -,  u 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.  Wholly  Given  Over  to  Sentiment        .  3 

II.  The  Way  to  Attain  an  End      ...  20 

III.  Burns  Does  His  Duty 40 

IV.  A  Red  Head 62 

V.  More  Than  One  Opinion       ....  88 

VI.  Broken  Steel  Wires 107 

VII.  Points  of  View 125 

VIII.  Under  the  Apple  Tree 145 

IX.  A  Practical  Artist 162 

X.  A  Runaway  Road 178 

XI.  After  Dinner 190 

XII.  A  Challenge 205 

XIII.  A  Crisis 216 

XIV.  Before  the  Lens 236 

XV.  Flashlights 260 

XVI.  In  February 277 

XVII.  From  the  Beginning 297 

XVIII.  The  Country  Surgeon 318 


LIST  OF   ILLUSTRATIONS 

"  He  moved  his  head  and  tried  to  speak 
naturally:  'I  am  • —  rather  — 
ashamed  of  myself  — '  "  .  .  .  Frontispiece 

FACING  PAGE 

"  The  narrator  turned  to  the  boy  in  the 
bed  and  inquired,  smiling:  'Could 
you  do  that,  Jamie?'  "  ...  210 

"  She  told  it  with  animation,  her  watchful 

eyes  on  her  sitter's  face "  .     .     .  240 

"There  is  no  more  now  to  come  between 
us  than  there  was  a  year  ago 
when  —  we  both  knew  —  that  we 
belonged  to  each  other"  .  .  .  302 


MRS.  RED  PEPPER 


CHAPTER  I 

WHOLLY   GIVEN   OVER    TO   SENTIMENT  : '*•''*»•• 


THE  Green  Imp,  long,  low  and  powerful,  carrying 
besides  its  two  passengers  a  motor  trunk,  a 
number  of  bulky  parcels,  and  a  full  share  of  mud, 
drew  to  one  side  of  the  road.  The  fifth  April 
shower  of  the  afternoon  was  on,  although  it  was 
barely  three  o'clock. 

Redfield  Pepper  Burns,  physician  and  surgeon, 
descended  from  the  car,  a  brawny  figure  in  an  envel 
oping  gray  motoring  coat.  He  wore  no  hat  upon  his 
heavy  crop  of  coppery  red  hair  —  somewhere  under 
the  seat  his  cap  was  abandoned,  as  usual.  His  face 
was  brown  with  tan  —  a  strong,  fine  face,  with 
dark-lashed  hazel  eyes  alight  under  thick,  dark 
eyebrows.  From  head  to  foot  he  was  a  rather 
striking  personality. 

"This  time,"  said  he,  firmly,  "I'm  going  to  leave 
the  top  up.  It's  putting  temptation  in  the  way  of 
something  very  weak  to  keep  lowering  the  top. 
We'll  leave  it  up.  There'll  be  one  advantage." 
He  looked  round  the  corner  of  the  top  into  the  face 
of  his  companion,  as  his  hands  adjusted  the  straps. 

3 


4  MRS.  RED   PEPPER 

"When  we  get  to  the  fifty-miles-from-the-office 
stone,  which  we're  going  to  do  in  about  five  minutes, 
I  can  take  leave  of  my  bride  without  having  to 
observe  the  landscape  except  from  the  front." 
.  .  "So  you're  going  to  take  leave  of  her,"  observed 
his  passenger.  She  did  not  seem  at  all  disturbed. 
As  the  car  moved  on  she  drew  back  her  veil  from  its 
position  over  her  face,  leaving  her  head  covered  only 
by  a  close-fitting  motoring  bonnet  of  dark  green, 
from  within  which  her  face,  vivid  with  the  colouring 
born  of  many  days  driving  with  and  without  veils, 
met  without  flinching  the  spatter  of  rain  the  fitful 
April  wind  sent  drifting  in  under  the  edge  of  the  top. 
Her  black  eyelashes  caught  the  drops  and  held  them. 

"Yes,  I'm  going  to  say  good-bye  to  her  at  that 
stone,"  repeated  Burns.  "She's  been  the  joy  of  my 
life  for  two  weeks,  and  I'll  never  forget  her.  But 
she  couldn't  stand  for  the  change  of  conditions 
we're  going  to  find  the  minute  we  strike  the  old 
place.  It's  only  my  wife  who  can  face  those." 

"If  the  bride  is  to  be  left  behind,  I  suppose  the 
bridegroom  will  stay  with  her?  Together,  they'll 
not  be  badly  off." 

Burns  laughed.  "Ye  gods!  Is  that  what  I've 
been  —  a  bridegroom?  I'm  glad  I  didn't  realize  it; 
it  would  have  made  me  act  queerer  than  I  have. 
Well,  it's  been  a  happy  time  —  a  gloriously  happy 
time,  but " 


WHOLLY  GIVEN  OVER  TO  SENTIMENT     $ 

He  paused  and  looked  down  at  her  for  an  instant, 
rather  as  if  he  hesitated  to  say  what  was  in  his  mind. 
He  did  not  know  that  he  had  already  said  it. 

But  she  knew  it,  and  she  smiled  at  him,  under 
standing —  and  sympathizing.  "But  you  are  glad 
you  are  on  your  way  back  to  your  work,"  said  she. 
"So  am  I." 

He  drew  a  relieved  breath.  "Bless  you,"  said  he. 
"I'm  glad  you  are  —  if  it's  true.  It's  only  that  I'm 
so  refreshed  by  this  wonderful  fortnight  that  I  — 
well  —  I  want  to  go  to  work  again  —  work  with  all 
my  might.  I  feel  as  if  I  could  do  the  best  work 
of  my  life.  That  doesn't  mean  that  I  don't  dread 
to  see  the  first  patient,  for  I  do.  Whoever  he  is, 
I  hate  the  sight  of  him!  Can  you  understand?" 

She  nodded.  "It  will  be  like  the  first  plunge  into 
cold  water.  But  once  in " 

"That's  it.  Of  course,  if  he  happened  to  be  lying 
on  my  lawn,  all  mangled  up  and  calling  for  me  to 
save  his  life,  I'd  welcome  the  sight  of  him,  poor  chap. 
But  he  won't  be  interesting,  like  that.  He'll  be 
a  victim  of  chronic  dyspepsia.  Or  worse  —  she'll 
be  a  woman  who  can't  sleep  without  a  dope.  I 
have  to  get  used  to  that  kind  by  degrees,  after  a 
vacation;  I  don't  warm  up  to  'em,  on  sight." 

"Yet  they're  very  miserable,  some  of  those 
patients  who  are  quite  able  to  walk  to  your  office,  and 
very  grateful  to  you  if  you  relieve  them,  aren't  they?" 


6  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

Red  Pepper  chuckled.  "I  can  foresee,"  he  said, 
"that  you're  going  to  take  the  side  of  the  unhappy 
patient,  from  the  start  —  worse  luck  for  me!  Yes, 
they're  grateful  if  I  can  relieve  them,  but  the 
trouble  is  I  can't  relieve  them  —  not  the  particular 
class  I  have  in  mind.  They  won't  do  as  I  order. 
And  as  long  as  I  can't  get  them  comfortably  down 
in  bed,  where  the  nurse  and  I  have  the  upper  hand, 
they'll  continue  to  carry  out  half  of  my  directions  — 
the  half  they  approve,  and  neglect  the  other  half  — 
the  really  important  half,  and  then  come  round  and 
tell  me  I  haven't  helped  them  any  —  and  why  not? 
Oh,  well  —  far  be  it  from  me  to  complain  of  the 
routine  work,  much  as  I  prefer  the  sort  which  calls 
for  all  the  skill  and  resource  I  happen  to  possess. 
And  the  dull  part  is  going  to  take  on  a  new  interest, 
now,  when  I  can  escape  from  the  office  into  my 
wife's  quarters,  between  times,  where  no  patient 
can  follow  me." 

She  smiled,  watching  a  big  cloud,  low  on  the  hori 
zon  before  them,  break  into  fragments  and  dissolve 
into  blue  sky  and  sunshine.  "I  hope,"  said  she, 
"to  be  able  to  make  those  quarters  attractive. 
You  remember  I  haven't  seen  them  yet  —  not  even 
the  bare  rooms." 

"That's  bothered  me  a  good  deal,  in  spite  of  the 
assurance  you  gave  me,  when  we  discussed  it  by 
letter.  If  I  hadn't  been  so  horribly  busy,  and  had 


WHOLLY  GIVEN  OVER  TO  SENTIMENT      7 

had  the  faintest  notion  of  what  to  do  with  them  — 
or  if  you  had  wanted  Martha  and  Winifred  to  put 
them  in  shape  for  you " 

"But  I  didn't!  It's  going  to  be  such  fun  to  work 
it  out,  you  and  I  together." 

He  shook  his  head.  "Don't  count  on  me,  dear. 
I  probably  shan't  have  time  to  do  more  than  take 
you  in  to  town  and  drop  you  in  the  shopping  district. 
You'll  have  to  do  it  all.  You've  married  a  doctor, 
Ellen  —  that's  the  whole  story.  And  it's  the 
knowledge  of  that  fact  that  makes  me  realize  that 
I  may  as  well  leave  my  bride  at  the  fifty-mile-stone. 
It'll  take  my  wife  that  fifty  miles  to  prepare  herself 
for  the  thing  that's  going  to  strike  her  the  minute  we 
are  home.  And,  by  the  fates,  I  believe  that's  the 
stone,  ahead  there,  at  the  curve  of  the  road!" 

He  brought  the  Green  Imp's  pace  down  until  it 
was  moving  very  slowly  toward  the  mile-stone. 
Then  he  turned  and  looked  steadily  down  into  the 
face  beside  him.  " Shall  you  be  sorry  to  get  there?" 
he  asked. 

"No." 

"Why?" 

"Because  I  don't  want  to  be  a  bride.  They  are 
useless  persons.  And  I  don't  care  much  for  bride 
grooms,  either.  I  prefer  a  busy  husband.  And 
I  shall  enjoy  getting  those  rooms  in  order,  quite  by 
myself.  To  tell  the  truth  I'm  not  at  all  sure  I  don't 


8  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

prefer  to  do  them  alone.  I've  had  one  enlightening 
experience,  shopping  with  you,  you  know." 

"So  you  have."  He  laughed  at  the  remembrance. 
"  Yet  I  thought  I  was  pretty  meek,  that  day.  Well, 
so  you  don't  mind  getting  to  the  mile-stone?" 

"Not  a  bit." 

They  were  beside  it  now.  Burns  stopped  the 
car.  It  was  a  country  road,  although  it  was  the 
main  highway  between  two  large  cities,  and  on  this 
April  afternoon  it  was  deserted  by  motorists.  Only 
in  the  distance  could  be  discerned  anything  in  the 
nature  of  a  vehicle,  and  that  was  headed  the  other 
way. 

"I  suppose  I'm  a  sentimental  chap,"  he  observed. 
"But  in  one  way  I've  been  rather  dreading  getting 
home,  for  your  sake.  It's  come  over  me,  since  we 
turned  our  faces  this  way,  that  not  a  thing  has  been 
done  to  make  my  shabby  old  place  fit  for  you  — 
except  to  clean  it  thoroughly.  Cynthia's  seen  to 
that.  Does  it  seem  as  if  I  hadn't  cared  to  give  you 
a  fit  welcome  home  ? " 

His  eyes  were  a  little  troubled,  as  they  searched 
hers.  But  they  grew  light  again  as  they  read  in 
her  serene  glance  that  she  did  not  misunderstand 
him. 

"Red,"  said  she  —  and  her  hand  slipped  into  his 
—  "I  like  best  to  come  into  your  house,  just  as 
it  is.  Take  me  in  —  that's  all  I  ask  —  and  trust 


WHOLLY  GIVEN  OVER  TO  SENTIMENT      9 

me  to  make  my  own  home  there  —  and  in  your 
heart.  That's  all  I  want." 

"You're  in  my  heart,"  said  her  husband,  "so 
close  and  warm  there's  not  much  room  for  anything 
else." 

"Then  don't  worry  about  the  house.  It  will  be 
a  dear  delight  to  fill  the  empty  rooms;  I've  a  genius 
for  that  sort  of  thing.  Wait  and  see.  And  mean 
while"  -she  smiled  up  into  his  nearing  face  — 
"say  good-bye  to  your  bride.  She's  quite  ready 
to  go  —  and  give  place  to  your  wife." 

So  Redfield  Pepper  Burns  kissed  his  bride,  with 
the  ardour  of  farewell.  But  the  next  minute,  safe 
in  the  shelter  of  the  deep-hooded  top,  he  had  wel 
comed  his  wife  with  his  heart  of  hearts  upon  his  lips, 
and  a  few  low-spoken  words  in  her  ear  which  would 
make  the  fiftieth-from-the-office  mile-stone  a  place 
to  remember  for  them  both. 

Then  he  drove  on,  silently,  for  a  while,  as  if  the 
little  roadside  ceremony  had  left  behind  it  thoughts 
too  deep  for  expression.  And,  quite  unconsciously, 
his  hand  upon  the  throttle  was  giving  the  Imp  more 
and  more  power,  so  that  the  car  flew  past  the  suc 
ceeding  mile-stones  at  such  short  intervals  that  before 
the  pair  knew  it  they  were  within  sight  of  the  city 
on  the  farther  side  of  which  lay  the  suburban  village 
which  was  their  home. 

"I  might  stop  at  the  hospital  and  see  how  things 


io  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

are,"  said  Burns  as  they  entered  the  city's  outskirts. 
"But  it  would  be  precisely  my  luck  to  find  some 
thing  to  detain  me,  and  I  think  I  owe  it  to  you  to  take 
you  home  before  I  begin  on  anything  else." 

"Stop,  if  you  want  to,  Red,"  said  Ellen.  "I 
expected  you  would." 

"But  I  don't  want  to.  I  might  have  to  send 
some  one  else  to  drive  you  out  to  the  house,  and 
that  would  break  me  up.  I  want  to  see  you  walk  in 
at  the  door,  and  know  that  you  belong  there.  Then, 
if  you  like,  and  not  till  then,  I'll  be  content  to  go 
on  duty  at  the  old  job." 

So  he  took  her  home.  As  they  approached  the 
village  the  ninth  April  shower  of  the  afternoon  came 
blustering  up,  accompanied  by  a  burst  of  wind  and 
considerable  thunder  and  lightning,  so  that  when 
they  caught  sight  of  the  low-lying  old  brick  house, 
well  back  from  the  street,  which  was  Red  Pepper 
Burns's  combined  home  and  office,  after  the  fashion 
of  the  village  doctor,  it  was  through  a  wall  of  rain. 

But  the  house  was  not  the  only  thing  they  saw. 
In  the  street  before  the  house  stood  a  row  of  vehicles. 
One  electric  runabout,  hooded  and  luxurious;  two 
"buggies,"  of  the  village  type,  drawn  by  single 
horses  standing  dejectedly  with  drooping  ears  and 
tails;  one  farmer's  wagon,  filled  with  boxes  and  bar 
rels,  its  horses  hitched  to  Burns's  post  by  a  rope: 
this  was  the  assemblage. 


WHOLLY  GIVEN  OVER  TO  SENTIMENT    n 

Red  Pepper  drew  one  long,  low  whistle  of  dismay, 
then  he  burst  into  a  laugh.  "Confound  that  blun 
dering  angel,  Cynthia,"  he  ejaculated.  "She's  let 
it  out  that  we're  coming.  And  Amy  Mathewson  — 
my  office  nurse  —  not  due  till  to-morrow,  to  protect 
us!  I  was  prepared,  in  a  way,  to  pitch  into  work, 
but,  by  George,  I  didn't  expect  to  see  that  familiar 
sight  to-day!  Hang  it  all!" 

"Never  mind."  Ellen  was  laughing,  too.  "Re 
member  you've  left  the  bride  behind.  Your  wife 
will  soon  be  used  to  it." 

"We'll  run  in  by  the  Chesters'  driveway,  and 
sneak  in  at  the  back  door,"  and  Burns  suited  the 
action  to  the  word  by  turning  in  at  the  gateway  of 
his  next  door  neighbour.  "I  rather  wonder  Win 
or  Martha  didn't  go  over  and  drive  away  my  too- 
eager  clientele." 

"Possibly  they  thought  it  would  look  more  like 
home  to  you  with  an  office  full  of  patients." 

"It  certainly  will,  though  I  could  dispense  with 
them  to-night  without  much  sorrow.  But  —  where 
am  I  going  to  put  you?  You  can  get  to  my 
room,  but  you  won't  want  to  stay  there.  The  part 
of  the  house  that  will  be  the  living  part  for  you  is 
either  empty  or  cluttered  up  with  wedding  presents. 
By  all  that's  crazy,  Ellen,  I'm  just  waking  up  to  the 
fact  that  there  isn't  any  place  to  put  you,  when 
there  are  patients  in  the  house  —  which  there  ever- 


I2  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

lastingly  are  — except  the  dining-room,  and  kitchen! 
Lord  Harry !  what  am  I  going  to  do  ?  And  what  will 
you  think  of  me  ?  Dolt  that  I  am ! " 

He    had    heard    Iici-    laugh    before.     A    low    and 
melodious  laugh  she  had,  and  he  had  often  listened 
to  it  and  joined  in  with  it,  and  rejoiced  at  the  ability 
she  possessed  to  laugh  where  many  women  would 
cry.     But  he  had  never  heard  her  laugh  as  she  was 
laughing  now.     Her  understanding  of  the  situation 
which    had    only   just    struck    him    was    complete. 
She  knew  precisely  how  busy  he  had  been  in  the 
weeks  preceding  the  wedding,  and  how  thankfully  he 
had  accepted  her  suggestion  that  she  come  to  his 
home  just  as  it  was,  and  plan  for  herself  what  dis 
posal  she  would  make  of  the  empty  rooms  in  a  house 
of  which  he  had  used  only  the  wing.     Until  he  had 
seen  that  row  of  vehicles  before  the  gate  he  had 
not  comprehended  the  fact  that  almost  the  entire 
furnished  portion  of  the  house  was  the  public  prop 
erty  of  his  patients  whenever  they  chose  to  come. 
And  they  were  there  now! 

The  car  stopped  behind  the  house,  close  by  the 
French  window  opening  upon  a  small  rear  porch. 
The  window  led  to  the  large,  low-ceiled  room  which 
was  Burns's  own,  leading  in  turn  to  his  offices,  and 
having  only  these  two  means  of  entrance.  Burns 
looked  down  at  his  wife,  her  expressive  face  rosy 
with  her  laughter. 


WHOLLY  GIVEN  OVER  TO  SENTIMENT    13 

"I'm  glad  you  see  it  that  way,"  said  he.  "That 
sense  of  humour  is  going  to  help  you  through  a  lot, 
tied  up  to  R.  P.  Burns,  M.  D.  Will  you  go  into  my 
room,  by  this  window?  Or  will  you  accept  Cynthia's 
hospitality  in  the  dining-room?  Or  —  maybe  that's 
the  best  plan  —  will  you  just  run  over  to  Martha's? 
I  remember  she  begged  us  to  come  there,  and  now 
I  see  why.  Want  to  stay  there  a  couple  of  weeks,  till 
we  can  get  your  living-rooms  straightened  out?" 

She  shook  her  head.  "I've  come  to  your  home, 
Red,"  said  she.  "I'm  not  going  to  be  sent  away! 
Go  in  and  see  your  patients,  and  don't  bother 
about  me.  Cynthia  and  I  will  discover  a  place  for 


me." 


His  face  very  red  with  chagrin,  Burns  took  her  in. 
The  downpour  of  rain  had  covered  all  sounds  of 
the  car's  approach,  so  that  neither  the  Macauleys 
on  the  one  side,  the  Chesters  on  the  other,  nor  the 
housekeeper  herself,  were  aware  of  the  arrival  of 
the  pair. 

"For  mercy's  sake,  Doctor!"  cried  Cynthia,  and 
hurried  across  the  neat  and  pleasant  kitchen  to 
meet  them.  "I  wasn't  expecting  you  yet  for  an 
hour.  Mrs.  Macauley  and  Mrs.  Chester  wasn't 
either.  They  was  over  here  ten  minutes  ago,  plan 
ning  how  to  get  rid  o'  the  folks  in  there  that's  insist 
ing  on  setting  and  waiting  for  you  to  come." 

"Never    mind    them,    Cynthia,"    said    her    new 


i4  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

mistress,  shaking  hands.  "The  Doctor  will  see  them 
and  I  will  stay  with  you.  I've  so  much  to  plan 
with  you.  What  a  pleasant  kitchen!  And  how 
delicious  something  smells!  Cynthia,  I  believe 
I'm  hungry!" 

"Well,  now,  you  just  come  and  set  right  down  in 
the  dining-room  and  I'll  give  you  something,"  cried 
the  housekeeper,  delighted. 

"That's  right,  Cynthia,"  approved  Burns,  much 
relieved.  "Look  after  her  till  I'm  free."  And  he 
vanished. 

"I  reckon  that'll  be  a  pretty  steady  job,"  Cynthia 
declared,  "if  I'm  to  do  it  'till  he's  free.'  He  won't 
be  free,  Mrs.  —  Burns,  till  the  next  time  you  get 
him  out  of  town." 

She  led  the  way  into  the  dining-room. 

"Mrs.  Macauley  wanted  to  have  you  come  to 
dinner  there,  to-night,  and  Mrs.  Chester  wanted 
you,  too.  But  Mr.  Macauley  said  this  was  the 
place  for  you  to  have  your  first  dinner  in  —  your 
own  home,  and  he  made  the  women  folks  give  in. 
So  the  table's  all  set,  and  I  can  hurry  up  dinner  so's 
to  have  it  as  soon  as  the  Doctor  gets  those  folks 
fixed  up  —  if  there  ain't  a  lot  more  by  that  time. 
Since  Miss  Mathewson  went  I've  been  answering  the 
telephone,  and  it  seems  'sif  the  town  wouldn't  let 
him  have  his  honeymoon  out,  they're  so  crazy  to 
get  him  back.  Now  —  will  you  set  down  and  let 


WHOLLY  GIVEN  OVER  TO  SENTIMENT    15 

me  give  you  a  bit  o'  lunch?  It's  only  five  o'clock, 
and  I've  planned  dinner  for  half-past  six." 

"It  would  be  a  pity  to  spoil  this  glorious  appetite, 
Cynthia,  though  I'm  sorely  tempted.  I  think  I'll 
use  the  time  getting  freshened  up  from  my  long 
drive  —  we've  come  a  hundred  and  sixty  miles 
to-day,  through  the  mud.  Then  I'll  find  Bob  and 
be  ready  to  have  dinner  with  the  Doctor." 

"I'll  have  to  take  you  round  by  the  porch  to  get 
to  the  Doctor's  room  —  you  wouldn't  want  to  go 
through  the  office,  with  such  a  raft  of  folks." 

Ellen's  bag  in  hand,  Cynthia  led  the  way.  In  at 
the  long  window  she  hurried  her,  out  of  the  rain 
which  was  dashing  against  it. 

"I  expect  you'll  think  it  smells  sort  o'  doctorish," 
she  said,  apologetically.  "Opening  out  of  the  office, 
so,  it's  kind  o'  hard  to  keep  it  from  getting  that 
queer  smell,  'specially  when  he's  always  running 
in  to  do  things  to  his  hands.  But,  land !  his  windows 
are  always  open,  night  and  day,  so  it  might  be  worse." 

"I  think  it's  beautifully  fresh  and  pleasant  here. 
Oh,  what  a  bunch  of  daffodils  on  the  dressing-table! 
Did  you  put  them  there?" 

"I  did  —  but  'twas  Mrs.  Macauley  sent  'em 
over.  You'll  find  clean  towels  in  the  bathroom. 
Oh,  and  —  Mrs.  Burns," — Cynthia  hesitated, — 
"the  Doctor  forgot  to  say  anything  about  it,  but 
I've  fixed  up  this  little  room  off  his  for  Bobby. 


16  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

He  used  to  have  the  little  boy  sleep  right  next  him, 
in  a  crib,  but  I  knew  —  of  course, " —  her  face 

crimsoned, —  "you  wouldn't  want "  She 

paused  helplessly. 

But  Ellen  helped  her  with  quick  assent.  "I'm  so 
glad  the  little  room  is  so  near.  Bob  won't  be  lonely, 
and  I  shall  love  to  have  him  there.  I  can  hardly 
wait  to  see  him." 

Cynthia  went  away,  rejoicing  that  her  arrange 
ments  were  approved.  She  was  devotedly  fond  of 
little  Bob,  Burns's  six-year-old  protege,  by  him  res 
cued,  a  year  before,  from  an  impending  orphan 
asylum,  and  now  the  happy  ward  of  a  guardianship  as 
kind  as  an  adoption.  She  had  been  somewhat  anx 
ious  over  the  child's  future  status  with  her  em 
ployer's  wife,  but  was  now  quite  satisfied  that  he  was 
not  to  be  kept  at  arm's  length. 

"Some  would  have  put  him  off  with  me,"  she 
said  to  herself,  as  she  returned  to  her  kitchen, 
"though  I  didn't  really  think  it  of  her  that  took  so 
much  notice  of  him  before.  She's  a  real  lady, 
Mrs.  Burns  is  —  and  prettier  than  ever  since  she 
married  the  Doctor,  as  why  shouldn't  she  be,  with 
him  to  look  pretty  for?" 

Left  alone  Ellen  looked  about  her.  Yes,  this  was 
the  room  in  which  he  had  lived  the  sleeping  portion 
of  his  bachelor's  life,  so  long.  It  gave  her  an  odd 
sense  of  what  a  change  it  was  for  him,  this  having 


WHOLLY  GIVEN  OVER  TO  SENTIMENT    17 

a  woman  come  into  his  life,  share  his  privacy, —  he 
had  so  little  privacy  in  his  busy  days  and  nights, — 
and  occupy  this  room  of  his,  this  big,  square,old-fash- 
ioned  room  with  its  open  windows,  the  one  spot 
which  had  been  his  unassailable  place  of  retreat. 
She  felt  almost  as  if  she  ought  to  go  and  find  some 
other  room  at  once,  ought  not  to  take  even  temporary 
possession  of  this,  or  strew  about  it  her  feminine 
belongings. 

The  room  was  somewhat  sparsely  furnished,  con 
taining  but  the  necessary  furniture;  no  draperies 
at  the  open  windows,  few  articles  on  the  high  old 
mahogany  bureau,  an  inadequate  number  of  nearly 
threadbare  rugs  on  the  waxed  floor,  and  but  three 
pictures  on  the  walls.  She  studied  these  pictures, 
one  after  another.  One  was  a  little  framed  photo 
graph  of  Burns's  father  and  mother,  taken  sitting  to 
gether  on  their  vine-covered  porch.  One  was  a  colour 
drawing  of  a  scene  in  Edinburgh,  showing  a  view  of 
Princes  Street  and  the  Castle, —  one  which  must 
have  become  familiar  to  him  from  a  residence  of 
some  length  during  the  period  of  his  studies  abroad. 
The  third  picture  —  it  surprised  and  touched  her 
not  a  little  to  find  it  here  —  was  a  fine  copy  of  a 
famous  painting,  showing  the  Christ  bending  above 
the  couch  of  a  sick  man  and  extending  to  him  his 
healing  touch.  The  face  was  one  of  the  best  mod 
ern  conceptions  of  the  Divine  personality.  She 


18  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

realized  that  the  picture  might  have  meant  much 
to  him. 

She  could  hear  his  voice,  as  she  set  about  her 
dressing.  He  was  in  his  private  office,  talking  with 
a  patient  whose  deafness  caused  him  to  raise  his  own 
tones  considerably;  the  closed  door  between  could 
not  keep  out  all  the  sound.  She  felt  her  invasion  of 
his  life  more  keenly  than  ever  as  she  realized  afresh 
how  close  to  him  her  own  life  was  to  be  lived. 
Marrying  a  village  doctor,  whose  home  contained 
also  his  place  of  business,  was  a  very  different  matter 
from  marrying  a  city  physician  with  a  downtown 
office  and  a  home  into  which  only  the  telephone  ever 
brought  the  voice  of  a  patient.  It  was  to  be  a  new 
and  strange  experience  for  them  both. 

She  sat  before  the  dressing-table,  having  slipped 
into  a  little  lilac  and  white  negligee.  The  half- 
curling  masses  of  her  black  hair  covered  her  shoulders 
as  she  brushed  them  out  —  slowly,  because  she  was 
thinking  so  busily  about  it  all,  and  had  forgotten 
to  make  haste.  Suddenly  the  door  leading  into 
the  office  flew  open  —  and  closed  as  quickly.  Steps 
behind  her,  pausing,  made  her  turn,  to  meet  her 
husband's  eyes. 

He  came  close.  An  unmistakably  "doctorish" 
odour  accompanied  him  —  an  odour  not  disagreeable 
but  associated  with  modern  means  for  securing  per 
fect  cleanliness.  He  wore  his  white  jacket,  fresh 


WHOLLY  GIVEN  OVER  TO  SENTIMENT    19 

from  Cynthia's  painstaking  hands.  His  eyes  were 
very  bright,  his  lips  were  smiling. 

His  arms  came  about  her  from  behind,  his  head 
against  hers  gently  forced  it  back  to  face  the  mirror. 
In  it  the  two  pairs  of  eyes  met  again,  hazel  and 
black. 

"To  think  that  I  should  see  that  reflected  from 
my  old  glass!"  whispered  Red  Pepper  Burns. 


CHAPTER  II 

THE    WAY   TO   ATTAIN   AN    END 

S.  REDFIELD  PEPPER  BURNS  stood 
in  the  doorway  of  her  living-room  and  studied 
it  with  a  critical  eye.  Within  the  room,  on  either 
side,  stood  her  sister  Martha,  Mrs.  James  Macauley, 
and  her  friend  Winifred,  Mrs.  Arthur  Chester. 
In  precisely  these  same  relative  positions  were  they 
also  her  neighbours  as  to  their  own  homes.  Their 
husbands  were  Red  Pepper's  best  friends,  outside 
those  of  his  own  profession.  It  was  appropriate 
that  they  should  have  stood  by  her  during  the  period 
of  fitting  and  furnishing  that  part  of  the  old  house 
which  her  husband  had  termed  her  "  quarters." 

"It's  the  loveliest  room  in  this  town,"  declared 
Winifred  Chester,  "and  I'm  going  to  have  all  I  can 
do  not  to  be  envious." 

"I  doubt  if  very  many  people  in  this  little  town 
will  think  it  the  loveliest,"  said  Ellen's  sister.  "Its 
browns  and  blues  will  be  too  dull  for  them,  and 
Ellen's  old  Turkey  carpet  too  different  from  their 
polished  floors  and  ' antique'  rugs.  By  the  way, 

20 


THE  WAY  TO  ATTAIN  AN  END  21 

Ellen,  how  old  do  you  suppose  that  carpet  is,  any 
how?" 

"It's  been  on  Aunt  Lucy's  floors  since  before  the 
Civil  War.  Isn't  it  beautifully  faded?  —  it  fur 
nishes  the  keynote  of  the  whole  room.  Isn't  it 
fortunate  that  the  room  should  be  so  long  and  low, 
instead  of  high  and  square?  Is  it  a  restful  room, 
girls?  That's  what  I'm  after." 

"Restful!"  Mrs.  Chester  clasped  her  hands  in  a 
speaking  gesture.  "Red  will  forget  every  care,  the 
minute  he  steps  into  it.  When  are  you  going  to 
show  it  to  him?" 

"To-night,  when  the  fire  is  lighted  and  evening 
office-hours  are  over.  If  he  hadn't  been  so  busy 
it  would  have  been  hard  to  keep  him  away,  but  he 
hasn't  had  an  hour  to  spare  even  for  guessing  what 
I've  been  doing." 

"I  hope  he'll  have  an  hour  to  spare,  to  stay  in  it 
with  you.  How  you  both  will  hate  the  sound  of 
the  office-bell  and  the  telephones!" 

"I'm  going  to  try  hard  not  to,  but  I  suppose 
I  shall  dread  them,  in  spite  of  myself,"  Ellen  owned. 

"This  great  couch,  facing  the  fire,  with  all  these 
lovely  blue  silk  pillows,  is  certainly  the  most 
comfortable  looking  thing  I  ever  saw,"  sighed 
Winifred  Chester,  casting  her  plump  little  figure 
into  the  davenport's  roomy  depths  and  clasping 
her  hands  under  her  head  in  an  attitude  of  repose. 


22  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

"If  Red  doesn't  send  out  word  that  he's  not 
at  home  and  can't  be  found,  when  a  call  finds 
him  stretched  out  here,  he's  a  stronger  character 
than  I  think  him." 

"Now  let's  go  up  and  look  at  the  guest-rooms." 
Ellen  led  the  way,  an  engaging  figure  in  a  fresh 
white  morning  dress,  her  cheeks  glowing  with  colour 
like  a  girl's. 

"If  you  didn't  know,  would  you  ever  dream  she 
had  been  wife  and  widow,  and  had  lost  her  little 
son?"  murmured  Winifred  in  Martha's  ear. 

Martha  Macauley  shook  her  head.  "She  seems 
to  have  gone  back  and  begun  all  over  again.  Yet 
there's  a  look " 

Winifred  nodded.  "Of  course  there  is  —  a  look 
she  wouldn't  have  had  if  she  hadn't  gone  through 
so  much.  It's  given  her  such  a  rich  sort  of  bloom." 

The  guest-rooms  were  airy,  attractive,  chintz- 
hung  rooms,  one  large,  one  somewhat  smaller,  but 
both  wearing  a  hospitable  look  of  readiness. 

"I  like  the  gray-and-rose  room  best,"  announced 
Winifred,  after  a  critical  survey,  as  if  she  were 
inspecting  both  rooms  for  the  first  time  instead  of 
the  fortieth.  She  had  made  the  gray-and-rose 
chintz  hangings  herself,  delighting  in  each  exquisite 
yard  of  the  fine  imported  material. 

"I  prefer  the  green-leaf  pattern,  it  looks  so  cool 
and  fresh."  Martha  eyed  details  admiringly.  "This 


THE  WAY  TO  ATTAIN  AN  END  23 

is  your  bachelor's  room,  you  say,  Ellen?  Oh,  you've 
put  a  desk  in  it!  The  bachelor  will  want  to  stay 
forever.  Who  do  you  suppose  he  will  be?" 

"The  first  friend  of  Red's  who  comes.  He  says 
he's  always  wanted  to  ask  certain  ones,  and  never 
had  a  place  to  put  them,  except  at  the  hotel." 

"He'd  better  be  careful  whom  he  asks  —  now. 
They'll  all  fall  in  love  with  you.  By  the  way,  do 
you  know  Red  has  a  terribly  jealous  streak?" 
Winifred  glanced  quickly  at  Ellen  as  she  spoke. 

"No  —  what  nonsense!  How  do  you  like  my 
idea  of  a  book-shelf  by  the  bed,  and  a  drop-light?" 

"Pampering  —  pure  pampering  of  your  bachelors. 
You'll  never  be  rid  of  them.  But  he  can  be  jealous, 
Ellen." 

"What  makes  you  think  so?  I  never  saw  a 
trace  of  it,"  cried  Martha  Macauley. 

"It's  there  —  you  mark  my  words.  He  couldn't 
help  it  —  with  his  hair  and  eyes." 

Ellen  laughed.  "Hair  and  eyes!  What  about 
my  black  locks  and  eyes?  Shall  I  not  make  a 
trustful  wife,  because  I  happen  to  have  them? 
Oh!"  —  she  ran  to  the  window  —  "there  comes 
the  Imp!  You'll  excuse  me  if  I  run  down?  Red's 
been  away  all  night  and  all  morning. " 

She  disappeared  as  the  Green  Imp's  horn  vocifer 
ated  a  signal  of  greeting  from  far  down  the  road. 

"They'll  never  get  time  to  grow  tired  of  each 


24  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

other,"  commented  Martha,  as  the  two  friends 
descended  the  old-time  winding  staircase.  "Isn't 
this  old  hall  delightful,  now?  I  never  realized  the 
possibilities  of  the  house,  with  this  part  closed 
so  long." 

"One  more  peep  at  the  living-room,  and  then 
we'll  go.  Isn't  it  just  like  Ellen?  Such  a  charming, 
quiet  room,  without  the  least  bit  of  ostentation,  yet 
simply  breathing  beauty  and  refinement.  She  is 
the  most  wonderful  shopper  I  know.  She  made 
every  dollar  Red  furnished  go  twice  as  far  as  I  could. 
I  don't  suppose  he  would  let  her  spend  a  penny  of 
her  own  on  this  house." 

"He's  too  busy  to  know  or  care  what  she  does  — 
till  he  sees  it.  I'll  venture  she  has  slipped  in  a  penny 
or  two.  That  magnificent  piano  is  hers,  you  know, 
—  and  two  or  three  pieces  of  furniture.  All  he'll 
realize  is  that  it's  delightful  and  that  she's  in  it. 
It's  all  so  funny,  anyhow, —  this  bringing  home  a 
bride  and  having  her  fall  to  work  to  furnish  her 
own  nest." 

"She's  enjoyed  it.  I'd  like  to  be  on  the  scene 
to-night,  when  she  shows  it  to  him." 

"No  chance  of  that.  When  Red  does  get  her  to 
himself  for  ten  minutes  he  quite  plainly  prefers  to 
have  the  rest  of  us  depart.  Have  you  noticed?" 

"Yes,  indeed.  I  only  hope  that  state  of  things 
will  last."  And  Winifred  smiled  and  sighed  at  once, 


THE  WAY  TO  ATTAIN  AN  END  25 

as  if  she  were  skeptical  concerning  of  the  permanency 
of  married  bliss. 

Office-hours  were  full  ones  that  evening,  and  it 
was  quite  nine  o'clock  before  R.  P.  Burns,  M.  D. 
closed  the  door  on  the  last  of  his  patients.  The 
moment  he  was  free  he  turned  to  Miss  Mathewson, 
his  office  nurse,  with  a  deep  breath  of  relief. 

"Let's  put  out  the  lights  and  call  it  off,"  he  said. 
"Run  home  and  get  an  hour  to  yourself  before 
bedtime,  and  never  mind  finishing  the  books.  Do 
you  know,"  —  he  was  smiling  down  at  her,  where 
she  sat,  a  trim  white  figure  at  her  desk,  an  assistant 
who  had  been  his  right  hand  for  nine  years,  and  who 
perhaps  knew  his  moods  and  tempers  better  than 
anybody  in  the  world,  though  he  did  not  at  all 
realize  this,  —  "do  you  know,  I  find  it  harder  to 
settle  down  to  work  again  than  I  thought  I  should? 
Curious,  isn't  it?" 

"Not  at  all  curious,  Doctor  Burns."  Miss  Mathew 
son  spoke  in  her  usual  quiet  tone,  smiling  in  return. 
"It  is  distracting,  even  to  me,  to  know  that  a  person 
so  lovely  as  your  wife  is  under  the  same  roof." 

This  was  much  for  this  most  reserved  associate 
of  his  to  say,  and  Burns  recognized  it.  He  regarded 
her  with  interested  astonishment.  "So  she's  got 
you,  too!"  he  ejaculated.  "I'm  mighty  glad  of 
that,  for  it  will  tend  to  make  you  sympathetic  with 
my  wish  to  have  an  hour  to  myself  —  and  her  — 


26  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

now  and  then.  I'm  to  see  my  home  to-night,  for 
the  first  time,  —  if " 

Steps  sounded  upon  the  office  porch.  Burns 
made  a  flying  leap  for  the  door  into  his  private  office, 
intent  on  getting  to  his  room  and  exchanging  his 
working  garb  for  one  suited  to  the  evening  he  meant 
to  spend  with  Ellen.  When  he  had  swiftly  but 
noiselessly  closed  the  door,  Miss  Mathewson  an 
swered  the  knock. 

A  tall  countryman  loomed  in  the  doorway. 

"Doctor  in?" 

"He  is  in,"  said  the  office  nurse,  who  would  tell 
lies  to  nobody,  "but  he  is  engaged.  Office-hours 
are  over.  Please  give  me  any  message  for  him." 

"I'd  like  to  see  him,"  said  the  countryman, 
doggedly. 

"I  don't  wish  to  disturb  him  unless  it  is  quite 
necessary,"  explained  Miss  Mathewson. 

"I  call  it  necessary,"  said  the  countryman,  "when 
a  fellow  has  a  broken  leg.  Got  him  out  here  in  the 
wagon.  Now  will  you  call  the  Doctor?" 

"I  surely  will,"  and  Miss  Mathewson  smiled 
sympathetically. 

She  called  her  employer,  who  came  out,  frowning, 
still  in  his  white  coat. 

"Confound  you,  Jake,"  said  he,  "don't  you  know 
it's  against  the  law  to  break  legs  or  mend  them 
after  office-hours  ? " 


THE  WAY  TO  ATTAIN  AN  END  27 

Miss  Mathewson,  in  the  brief  interval  consumed 
by  the  men  in  bringing  the  injured  man  in  from  the 
street,  slipped  across  the  hall. 

"It  will  be  another  hour,  Mrs.  Burns,"  said  she, 
at  the  door  of  the  living-room.  "But  after  that 
I  shall  not  be  here  to  answer  the  door  or  the  tele 
phone,  and  the  Doctor  can  ignore  them,  if  he  will." 

Ellen  rose,  smiling,  and  came  across  the  room  to 
her.  The  two  figures,  one  in  the  severe  white  of 
a  uniform,  the  other  in  the  filmy,  lace-bordered 
white  of  a  delicate  house  gown,  met  in  the  doorway.  . 

"You  dear,  kind  little  person,"  said  Red  Pepper's 
wife,  with  her  warm  hand  on  the  nurse's  arm,  "how 
good  it  is  of  you  to  care!  But  I  can  wait.  Can't 
you  stay  in  here  with  me,  while  the  Doctor  sees 
his  patient?" 

"I  must  help  him.  It's  a  broken  leg,  and  I  must 
go  this  minute,"  said  Miss  Mathewson.  But  she 
paused  for  an  instant  more,  looking  at  Ellen.  The 
nurse  was  the  taller,  and  looked  the  older  of  the  two, 
but  the  affectionate  phrase  "little  person"  had 
somehow  touched  a  heart  which  was  lonelier  even 
than  Ellen  guessed  —  and  Ellen  guessed  much  more 
than  Red  Pepper  had  ever  done.  Red  Pepper's 
wife  leaned  forward. 

"You  and  I  must  be  good  friends,"  said  she,  and 
Miss  Mathewson  responded  with  a  flush  of  pleasure. 
Then  the  nurse  flew  back  to  the  office,  while  Ellen, 


28  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

after  listening  for  a  little  to  the  sounds  of  footsteps 
in  the  office,  turned  back  to  the  fire. 

"How  does  it  happen,"  said  she  musingly  to  her 
self,  as  she  stood  looking  down  into  the  depths  of 
the  glowing  heart  of  it,  "that  one  woman  can  be  so 
rich  and  one  so  poor  —  under  the  same  roof?  She 
sees  more  of  him  than  I, —  lives  her  life  closer  to 
him,  in  a  way, —  and  yet  I  am  rich  and  she  is  poor. 
How  I  wish  I  could  make  her  happy  —  as  happy 
as  she  can  be  without  the  one  thing  that  would  have 
made  her  so.  O  Red !  —  and  you  never  saw  it ! " 

The  hour  went  by.  The  broken  leg  was  set  and 
bandaged,  the  injured  man  was  conveyed  back  to 
the  wagon  which  had  brought  him;  and  Red  Pepper 
Burns  took  a  last  look  at  his  patient,  in  the  light  of 
the  lantern  carried  by  the  countryman. 

"You've  been  game  as  any  fighting  man,  Tom," 
said  he,  cheerily.  "The  drive  home'll  be  no  mid- 
summer-night's-dream,  but  I  see  that  upper  lip  of 
yours  is  stiff  for  it.  Good-night  —  and  good  luck! 
We'll  take  care  of  the  luck." 

As  he  turned  back  up  the  path  the  front  door  of 
his  house  swung  open.  It  was  a  door  he  had  never 
entered  more  than  once,  his  offices  being  in  the  wing, 
and  the  upright  portion  having  been  totally  unused 
since  he  had  owned  the  place.  With  an  exclamation 
he  was  up  the  steps  in  two  leaps,  and  standing  still 
upon  the  threshold. 


THE  WAY  TO  ATTAIN  AN  END  29 

"Come  in  a  little  farther,  please,  dear,"  said  a 
voice  from  behind  the  door,  "so  I  can  close  it." 

Burns  shut  the  door  with  a  bang,  and  turned 
upon  the  figure  in  the  corner.  But  his  extended  arm 
kept  his  wife  away  from  him.  "Let  me  go  and 
refresh,"  he  begged.  "I  can't  bear  to  touch  you 
after  handling  that  unwashed  lumberjack.  Just 
five  minutes  and  I'll  be  back." 

He  was  as  good  as  his  word.  In  five  minutes  he 
was  no  longer  a  busy  professional  man,  but  a  gentle 
man  of  leisure,  with  hands  cleaner  than  those  of  any 
fastidious  clubman,  and  clothes  which  carried  no 
hint  of  past  usage  in  other  places  less  chaste  than 
his  wife's  private  living-rooms. 

"Now  I'm  ready  for  you,"  he  announced,  return 
ing.  "And  I'll  be  hanged  if  I'll  see  another  inter 
loper  to-night.  A  man  has  some  rights,  if  he  is  a 
doctor.  Morgan,  up  the  street  there,  is  the  new 
man  in  town,  and  he  has  a  display  of  electric  lights 
in  front  of  his  office  which  fairly  yells  'come  here!' 
Let  'em  go  there!  I  stay  here." 

He  took  his  wife  in  his  arms  and  kissed  her 
hungrily,  then  stood  holding  her  close,  his  cheek 
against  her  hair,  in  absolute  contentment.  He 
seemed  to  see  nothing  of  the  new  quarters,  though 
he  was  now  just  outside  the  living-room  door,  in 
the  hall  which  ran  between  the  two  parts  of  the 
house.  Presently  she  drew  him  into  the  room. 


3o  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

"Look  about  you,"  said  she.  "Have  you  no 
curiosity?" 

"Not  much,  while  I  have  you.  Still  —  by 
George!  Well!" 

He  stood  staring  about  him,  his  eyes  wide  open 
enough  now.  From  one  detail  to  another  his  quick, 
keen-eyed  glance  roved,  lingering  an  instant  on 
certain  points  where  artful  touches  of  colour  relieved 
the  more  subdued  general  tone  of  the  furnishings. 
The  room  suggested,  above  all  things,  quiet  and 
repose,  yet  there  was  a  soft  and  mellow  cheer  about 
it  which  made  it  anything  but  sombre.  Its  browns 
and  blues  and  ivories  wrought  out  an  exquisite 
harmony.  The  furniture  was  simple  but  solid,  the 
roomy  high-backed  davenport  luxurious  with  its 
many  pillows.  The  walls  showed  a  few  good  pict 
ures —  how  good,  it  might  not  be  that  Red  Pepper 
fully  understood.  But  he  did  understand,  with 
every  sense,  that  it  was  such  a  room  as  a  man  might 
look  upon  and  be  proud  to  call  his  home. 

But  he  was  silent  so  long  that  Ellen  looked  up  at 
him,  to  make  sure  that  there  was  no  displeasure  in 
his  face.  Instead  she  found  there  deeper  feeling 
than  she  expected.  He  returned  her  look,  and  she 
discovered  that  he  was  not  finding  it  easy  to  tell 
her  what  he  thought  of  it  all.  She  led  him  to  the 
couch  and  drew  him  down  beside  her.  He  put  his 
arm  about  her,  and  with  her  head  upon  his  shoulder 


THE  WAY  TO  ATTAIN  AN  END  31 

the  pair  sat  for  some  time  in  a  silence  which  Ellen 
would  not  end.  But  at  length,  looking  into  the  fire, 
his  head  resting  against  hers,  Burns  broke  the  still 
ness. 

"I  suppose  I'm  an  impressionable  chap,"  he  said, 
"but  I  wasn't  prepared  for  just  this.  I  knew  it 
would  be  a  beautiful  room,  if  you  saw  to  it,  but  I  had 
no  possible  notion  how  beautiful  it  would  be.  There 
is  just  one  thing  about  it  that  breaks  me  up  a  bit. 
Perhaps  you  won't  understand,  but  I  can't  help 
wishing  I  could  have  done  the  work  for  you  instead 
of  you  for  me.  It  isn't  the  work,  either,  it's  the 
—  love." 

"And  you  couldn't  have  spared  enough  of  that  to 
furnish  a  room  with?" 

He  laughed,  drawing  her  even  closer  then  he  had 
held  her  before.  "I'll  trust  you  to  corner  me,  every 
time,"  he  said.  "Yes,  I  could  have  spared  love 
enough  —  no  doubt  of  that.  But  it  seems  as  if  it 
were  the  man  who  should  put  the  house  in  order  for 
the  woman  he  brings  home." 

"You  have  excellent  taste,"  said  she  demurely, 
"but  I  never  should  credit  you  with  the  discrimina 
tions  and  fastidiousnesses  of  a  decorator.  And 
why  should  you  want  to  take  away  from  me  the 
happiness  of  making  my  own  nest?  Don't  you 
know  it's  the  home-maker  who  finds  most  joy  in  the 
home?  Yet  —  it's  the  home-comer  I  want  to  have 


32  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

find  the  joy.  Do  you  think  you  can  rest  in  this 
room,  Red?" 

He  drew  a  deep,  contented  breath.  "Every 
minute  I  am  in  it.  And  from  the  time  I  first  begin 
to  think  about  it,  coming  toward  it.  Home!  It's 
Paradise!  This  great,  deep,  all-embracing  blue  thing 
we're  sitting  in  —  is  it  made  of  down  and  velvet?" 

"Precisely  that.  Velvet  to  cover  it,  down  in  the 
pillows.  I  hope  you'll  have  many  a  splendid  nap 
here." 

"You'll  spoil  me,"  he  declared,  "if  you  let  me 
sleep  here.  I'm  used  to  catching  forty  winks  in  my 
old  leather  chair  in  the  office,  while  I  wait  for  a 


summons." 


Her  face  grew  very  tender.  "I  know.  James 
Macauley  has  told  me  more  than  one  tale  of  hours 
spent  there,  when  you  needed  sounder  sleep.  It's 
a  hard  life,  and  it's  going  to  be  my  delight  to  try  to 
make  it  easier." 

Red  Pepper  sat  up.  "It's  not  a  hard  life,  dear, — 
it's  one  of  many  compensations.  And  now  that 
I  have  one  permanent  compensation  I'm  never 
going  to  think  I'm  being  badly  used,  no  matter 
what  goes  wrong.  Come,  let's  stroll  about.  I 
want  to  look  at  every  separate  thing.  This  piano  — 
surely  the  sum  I  gave  you  didn't  cover  that?  It 
looks  like  one  of  the  sort  that  are  not  bought  two- 
for-a-quarter." 


THE  WAY  TO  ATTAIN  AN  END  33 

"No,  Red,  that  was  mine.  It  came  from  my  old 
home  with  Aunt  Lucy  —  that  and  the  desk-book 
case,  and  two  of  the  chairs.  And  Aunt  Lucy  gave 
me  this  big  rug,  made  from  the  old  drawing-room 
carpet.  I  built  the  whole  room  on  the  rug  colour 
ings.  You  don't  mind,  do  you,  dear?  —  my  using 
these  few  things  that  belonged  to  me  in  my  girlhood, 
in  South  Carolina?" 

"In  your  girlhood?  Not  —  in  your  Washington 
life?" 

"No,  Red." 

She  looked  straight  up  into  his  eyes,  reading  in 
the  sudden  glowing  of  them  under  their  heavy  brows 
the  feeling  he  could  not  conceal  that  he  could  bear 
to  have  about  his  house  no  remote  suggestion  of  her 
former  marriage. 

"All  right,  dearest,"  he  answered  quickly.  "Fm 
a  brute,  I  know,  but  —  you're  mine  now.  Will  you 
play  for  me?  I  believe  I'm  fond  of  music." 

"Of  course  you  are.  But  first,  let's  go  upstairs. 
I'm  almost  as  proud  of  our  guest-rooms  as  of 
this." 

"Guest-rooms?"  repeated  Burns,  a  few  minutes 
later,  when  he  had  examined  everything  in  the 
living-room  and  pronounced  all  things  excellent. 
"We're  to  have  guests,  are  we?  But  not  right 
away?" 

"I   thought   you'd   be    eager   to   entertain    those 


34  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

bachelor  friends  you  mentioned,  so  I  lost  no  time 
in  getting  a  second  room  ready  for  them." 

"Well,  I  don't  know."  Burns  was  mounting 
the  stairs,  his  arm  about  his  wife's  shoulders.  "By 
the  way,  Ellen,  I  don't  believe  I  ever  went  up  these 
stairs  before.  Comfortable,  aren't  they?  I'm  glad 
there's  covering  on  them.  I  never  like  to  hear 
people  racketing  up  and  down  bare  stairs,  be  they 
never  so  polished  and  fine.  That  comes  of  my  in 
stincts  for  quiet  on  my  patients '  account,  I  suppose. 
About  the  guests  —  we  don't  need  to  have  any  for 
a  year  or  two,  do  we  ? " 

"Why,  Red!"  Ellen  began  to  laugh.  "I  thought 
you  were  the  most  hospitable  man  in  the  world." 

"All  in  good  time,"  agreed  her  husband,  comfort 
ably.  He  looked  in  at  the  door  of  the  gray-and-rose 
room,  as  he  spoke.  "Well,  well!"  he  ejaculated. 
"Well,  well!" 

And  again  he  was  silent,  staring.  When  he 
spoke: 

"Would  you  mind  going  over  there  and  sitting 
down  in  that  willow  chair  with  the  high  back?" 
he  requested. 

His  wife  acceded,  and  crossing  the  room  smiled 
back  at  him  from  the  depths  of  the  white  willow 
chair,  her  dark  head  against  its  cushioning  of  soft, 
mingled  tints  of  pale  gray  and  glowing  rose.  Red 
Pepper  nodded  at  her. 


THE  WAY  TO  ATTAIN  AN  END  35 

"I  thought  so,"  said  he.  "This  is  no  guest-room. 
This  is  your  room." 

"Oh,  no,  dear.  My  place  is  downstairs,  with 
you  —  unless  —  you  don't  want  me  there." 

He  crossed  the  room  also  and  stood  before  her,  his 
hands  thrust  into  his  pockets.  "This  is  your 
room,"  he  repeated.  "It's  easy  enough  to  recognize 
it.  It  looks  just  like  you.  I've  been  uncomfort 
able  about  you  downstairs,  whenever  I  had  to  leave 
you.  You'll  be  safe  here,  with  every  window 
wide  open." 

She  looked  up  at  him,  mutely  smiling,  but  some 
thing  in  her  eyes  told  him  that  all  was  not  yet  said. 
Red  Pepper  leaned  still  lower  and  kissed  her. 

"It  will  be  easy  enough  to  have  an  extension  of 
the  telephone  brought  up  here,"  he  adxled  —  and 
found  her  arms  about  his  neck.  But  she  shook  her 
head.  "Don't  settle  it  so  quickly,"  she  urged. 

"You  said  there  was  another  guest-room,"  he 
reminded  her  presently.  "The  bachelor's  room.  Is 
it  next  door?" 

They  went  together  to  look  at  the  bachelor's 
room.  Burns  surveyed  it  with  satisfaction. 

"The  jolliest  room  for  the  purpose  I  ever  saw," 
he  confessed.  "And  I  know  the  bachelor  who  will 
sleep  in  it.  He's  downstairs  now,  in  the  small 
room  out  of  ours." 

"Bob?    Why,  Red " 


36  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

"We'll  have  a  door  cut  through.  The  telephones 
shall  be  in  there,  then  they  won't  disturb  you. 
They  won't  bother  Bob  a  minute.  And  when  I 
come  in  at  2  A.  M.  I  can  slip  in  here,  shove  the  boy 
over  against  the  wall,  and  be  asleep  in  two  minutes." 

"Red!  All  my  preparations  for  the  bachelor! 
The  desk, —  the  reading-light  by  the  bed " 

"They  suit  me  admirably.  I  never  saw  a  better 
arrangement.  The  two  rooms  together  make  a 
perfect  suite  —  when  the  door  is  cut  through." 

"And  where  will  you  put  our  guests?  There's 
only  one  more  room  on  this  floor,  of  any  size." 

"Let's  go  and  see." 

Catching  up  a  brass  candlestick  from  the  bach 
elor's  desk,  Burns  lit  it  and  proceeded  to  explore, 
Ellen  following.  There  were  dancing  lights  in  her 
eyes  as  she  watched  him. 

"Here's  your  fourth  room,"  said  he,  throwing 
open  a  door  at  the  back  of  the  hall. 

"This  box?  It  can't  be  made  a  really  comfortable 
room,  even  if  I  do  my  best  with  it.  Your  bachelor 
will  not  stay  long." 

"Best  not  make  him  too  comfortable.  Nobody 
wants  him  to  stay  long."  And  Red  Pepper  closed 
the  door  again,  with  an  air  of  having  settled  the 
matter  to  his  entire  satisfaction.  "Besides,"  he 
added,  "if  he's  really  a  desirable  chap,  and  we 
want  him  around  more  than  a  day  or  two,  he  can 


THE  WAY  TO  ATTAIN  AN  END  37 

bunk  in  my  old  room  downstairs.  When  he's  not 
there  I'll  use  it  for  an  annex  to  my  offices.  Some 
body's  always  needing  to  be  put  to  bed  for  an  hour 
or  two.  Amy  Mathewson  will  revel  in  that  extra 
space.  Her  long  suit  is  making  people  comfortable, 
and  smoothing  the  upper  sheet  under  their  chins." 

"Redfield  Pepper,  please  consider  this  carefully," 
said  his  wife,  as  they  returned  to  the  gray-and-rose 
room.  "Remember  how  long  you  have  had  that 
downstairs  room, —  you  are  attached  to  it,  perhaps, 
more  than  you  think.  You  have  been  a  bachelor 
yourself  a  good  while " 

"And  am  supposed  to  be  old  and  set  in  my  ways," 
interpolated  her  listener.  He  stood  before  her 
with  folded  arms,  a  judicial  expression  on  his  brow. 
Beneath  his  coppery  hair  his  black  eyebrows  drew 
together  a  little  above  a  pair  of  hazel  eyes  which 
sparkled  with  a  whimsical  light  which  somewhat 
impaired  the  gravity  of  the  expression. 

"You  are  wonted  to  your  ways  —  naturally," 
Ellen  pursued.  "It  will  not  be  so  convenient  for 
you,  having  your  rooms  up  here.  I  am  quite 
contented  there,  with  you,  and  not  in  the  least 
afraid  with  Cynthia  sleeping  down  there  too  —  and 
the  little  bachelor.  Think  twice,  Red,  before  you 
decide  on  this  arrangement." 

He  glanced  at  the  wall  between  the  two  rooms. 
"Where  would  be  a  good  place  to  have  the  door 


38  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

cut  through?  What's  behind  that  curtain?  A 
clothes-press?" 

He  advanced  to  the  curtain  and  swept  it  aside. 
It  hung  in  a  doorway,  and  was  of  a  heavy  gray 
material,  with  an  applied  border  of  the  gray-and- 
rose  chintz.  As  he  moved  it  light  burst  through 
from  the  other  side  of  the  wall,  and  Burns  found 
himself  looking  into  the  "bachelor's  room"  next 
door. 

He  turned,  with  a  shout  of  laughter.  "You 
witch!"  he  cried,  and  returning  to  his  wife  laid  a 
hand  on  either  richly  colouring  cheek,  gently  forcing 
her  face  upward,  so  that  he  could  look  directly 
into  it.  "You  meant  it,  all  the  while!" 

"Don't  be  too  sure  of  that.  If  this  room  looks 
like  me,  the  one  downstairs  certainly  looks  like  you. 
I  don't  want  to  take  you  out  of  your  proper  environ 


ment." 


"My  environment!"  he  repeated,  and  laughed. 
"What  is  it,  now,  do  you  think?  Not  bachelor 
apartments,  still?" 

But  she  persisted,  gently.  "Keep  the  down 
stairs  room,  dear,  just  as  it  is.  Don't  make  it  a 
public  room,  except  for  necessity.  Sometimes  you  '11 
be  glad  to  take  refuge  there,  just  as  you're  used  to 
doing.  Leave  those  three  pictures  on  your  walls, 
and  look  at  them  often,  as  you've  always  done. 
And  be  sure  of  this,  Red:  I  shall  never  be  hurt, 


THE  WAY  TO  ATTAIN  AN  END  39 

when  you  show  me  that  you  want  to  fight  some 
thing  out  alone,  there.  It  must  be  your  own  and 
private  place,  just  as  if  I  hadn't  come." 

Sober  now,  he  stood  looking  straight  down  into 
her  eyes,  which  gave  him  back  his  look  as  straightly. 
After  a  minute  he  spoke  with  feeling: 

"Thank  you,  dearest.  And  bless  you  for  under 
standing  so  well.  At  the  same  time  I'm  confident 
you  understand  one  thing  more:  That  by  leaving 
a  man  his  liberty  you  surely  hold  him  tightest!" 


CHAPTER  III 

BURNS   DOES    HIS    DUTY 

EXCUSE  me  for  coming  in  on  you  at  breakfast," 
Martha  Macauley,  Ellen's  sister  and  next- 
door  neighbour,  apologized,  one  morning  in  late 
May.  "But  I  wanted  to  catch  Red  before  he  got 
away,  and  I  saw,  for  a  wonder,  that  there  was  no 
vehicle  before  the  door." 

"Come  in,  come  in,"  urged  Burns,  while  Ellen 
smiled  a  greeting  at  her  sister,  a  round-faced,  fair- 
haired,  energetic  young  woman,  as  different  as 
possible  from  Ellen's  own  type.  "Have  a  chair." 
He  rose  to  get  it  for  her,  napkin  in  hand.  "Will 
you  sit  down  and  try  one  of  Cynthia's  magnificent 
muffins?" 

"No,  thank  you.  And  I'll  plunge  into  my  errand, 
for  I  know  at  any  minute  you  may  jump  up  and  run 
away.  You  may,  anyway,  when  you  hear  what 
I  want!  Promise  me,  Red,  that  you  won't  go  until 
you've  heard  me  out." 

"What  a  reputation  I  have  for  speed  at  escape!" 
But  Burns  glanced  at  his  watch  as  he  spoke.  "Fire 
away,  Martha.  Five  minutes  you  shall  have  — 

40 


BURNS  DOES  HIS  DUTY  41 

and  I'm  afraid  no  more.  I'm  due  at  the  hospital 
in  half  an  hour." 

"Well,  I  want  to  give  a  reception  for  you." 
Martha  took  the  plunge.  "  I  know  you  hate  them, 
but  Ellen  doesn't, —  at  least,  she  knows  such  things 
are  necessary,  no  matter  how  much  you  may  wish 
they  weren't.  I  don't  mean  a  formal  reception,  of 
course.  I  know  how  you  both  feel  about  trying  to 
ape  city  society  customs,  in  a  little  suburban  village 
like  this.  But  I  do  think,  since  you  had  such  a 
quiet  wedding,  you  ought  to  give  people  a  chance  to 
come  in  and  greet  you,  as  a  newly  married  pair." 

Burns's  eyes  met  his  wife's  across  the  table. 
There  was  a  comical  look  of  dismay  in  his  face. 
"I  thought,"  said  he,  "you  and  I  agreed  to  cut  out 
all  that  sort  of  thing.  As  for  being  a  newly  married 
pair  —  we  aren't.  We've  been  married  since  the 
beginning  of  time.  I  can't  conceive  of  existence 
apart  from  Mrs.  Redfield  Pepper  Burns,  nor  recall 
any  period  of  my  life  when  she  wasn't  a  part  of  it." 

"You've  been  married  just  seven  weeks  and  three 
days,  however,"  retorted  his  sister-in-law,  with  a 
touch  of  impatience,  though  she  smiled,  "and  not 
a  quarter  of  the  people  in  town  have  ever  met  Ellen. 
You'll  find  that  it's  not  the  same,  now  that  you're 
married.  They  won't  flock  to  your  office,  just  out 
of  admiration  for  you,  unless  you  show  them  some 
attention." 


42  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

Burns  chuckled.  "Won't  they?  By  George, 
I  wish  they  wouldn't!  Then  I  could  find  time  to 
spend  an  uninterrupted  hour  with  my  wife,  at  least 
once  a  day." 

"Do  be  reasonable,  Red.  Ellen,  will  you  make 
him  see  it's  a  very  simple  thing  I'm  asking  of 
him?  Just  to  stand'  by  you  and  shake  hands  for 
a  couple  of  hours.  Then  he  can  go  out  and 
stand  on  his  head  on  the  lawn,  if  he  wants 


to." 

"To  relieve  the  tension?"  her  victim  suggested. 
"That's  an  excellent  idea  —  real  compensation. 
But  as  the  blood  will  be  all  at  the  top,  anyway,  after 
two  hours'  effort  at  being  agreeable,  saying  the  same 
idiotic  things  over  and  over,  and  grinning  steadily 
all  the  time,  I  think  I'd  prefer  soaking  my  head  under 
a  pump." 

"Do  what  pleases  you,  if  you'll  only  let  me  have 
my  way." 

Burns  looked  at  Ellen  again.  "What  do  you  say, 
dear?  Must  these  things  be?  Do  you  want  to  be 
'  received'?" 

"Martha  has  set  her  heart  on  it,"  said  she, 
gently,  "and  it's  very  dear  of  her  to  want  to  take 
the  trouble.  She  promises  really  to  make  it  very 
informal." 

"  Informal !  I  wish  I  knew  what  that  word  meant. 
Don't  I  have  to  wear  my  spike-tail?" 


BURNS  DOES  HIS  DUTY  43 

"I'm  afraid  you  do  —  since  Martha  wants  it  in 
the  evening.  The  men  in  a  place  like  this  are  not 
available  for  afternoon  affairs." 

"If  I  must  dress,  then  I  don't  see  what  tfyere  is 
informal  about  it,"  argued  her  husband,  with  another 
glance  at  his  watch.  "My  idea  of  informality  is  not 
a  white  necktie  and  pumps.  But  I  suppose  I'll 
have  to  submit." 

He  came  around  the  table,  and  Ellen  rose  to 
receive  his  parting  kiss.  With  his  arm  about  her 
shoulder,  and  his  chin  —  that  particularly  resolute 
chin  —  touching  her  hair,  he  looked  at  Martha. 
"Go  on  with  your  abominable  society  stunt," 
said  he.  "I'll  agree  to  be  there  —  if  I  can." 

His  eyes  sparkled  with  mischief,  as  Martha  jumped 
up,  crying  anxiously: 

"Oh,  that's  just  it,  Red!  You  must  be  there! 
We  can't  have  any  excuses  of  operations  or  desper 
ately  sick  patients.  We  never  yet  had  you  at  so 
much  as  a  family  dinner  that  you  didn't  get  up 
and  go  away,  or  else  weren't  even  there  at  all. 
Even  your  wedding  had  to  be  postponed  three  hours. 
That  won't  do  at  this  kind  of  an  affair.  Ellen  can't 
be  a  bridal  pair,  all  by  herself!" 

"Can't  she?"  His  arm  tightened  about  his  wife's 
shoulders.  "Well,  I'll  tell  you  what  I'll  do.  If 
I  have  to  leave  suddenly  I'll  take  her  with  me. 
That'll  make  it  all  right  and  comfortable.  If  you 


44  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

and  Jim  will  retire  too,  the  company  can  have 
a  glorious  time  talking  us  over." 

He  stooped,  whispered  something  in  Ellen's  ear, 
laughing  as  he  did  so,  then  kissed  her,  nodded  at 
Martha,  and  departed.  From  the  other  side  of  the 
closed  door  came  back  to  them  a  gay,  whistled  strain 
from  a  popular  Irish  song. 

"He's  just  as  hopeless  as  ever,"  Martha  com 
plained.  "I  thought  you  would  have  begun  to 
have  some  effect  on  him,  by  this  time.  The  trouble 
is,  he's  been  a  bachelor  so  long  and  has  got  into  such 
careless  notions  of  having  his  own  way  about  every 
thing,  you're  going  to  have  a  bad  time  getting  him 
just  to  behave  like  an  ordinary  human  being." 

"What  an  outlook!"  Ellen  laughed,  coming  over 
to  her  sister,  and  stopping  on  the  way  to  help  little 
Bob  insert  a  refractory  napkin  in  its  silver  ring. 
"Perhaps  I'd  better  not  waste  much  time  trying 
to  make  him  over.  He  really  suits  me  pretty  well, 
as  he  is, —  and  it  doesn't  strike  me  he's  so  different 
from  the  average  man,  when  it  comes  to  receptions. 
Is  Jim  enthusiastic  over  this  one?" 

"Oh,  Jim  isn't  making  any  fuss  about  it,"  evaded 
Martha.  "He'll  be  good  and  amiable,  when  the 
time  comes.  Of  course,  any  man  likes  better  just 
having  a  group  of  men  smoking  round  the  fire,  or 
sitting  down  to  a  stag  dinner,  but  Jim  understands 
the  necessity  of  doing  some  things  just  because 


BURNS  DOES  HIS  DUTY  45 

they're  expected.  I  really  think  that  having  a 
perfectly  informal  affair  of  this  sort  is  letting  them 
off  easily.  They  might  have  had  to  stand  a  series 
of 'At  Homes/" 

"Not  in  this  little  place.  Everybody  would  have 
come  to  the  first  one,  and  there  would  have  been 
nobody  left  for  the  rest.  As  it  is,  you  will  have  a 
houseful,  won't  you?  It's  lovely  of  you  to  do  it, 
Martha  dear,  and  Red  and  I  will  be  good,  and  stand 
in  line  as  long  as  you  want  us." 

"And  you  won't  let  him  get  away?" 

"He  won't  try, —  though  if  an  urgent  call  comes, 
it's  not  I  who  can  keep  him.  But  don't  worry 
about  that.  It  doesn't  always  happen,  I  suppose." 

"Pretty  nearly  always.  But  I'll  hope  for  the 
best." 

Mrs.  Macauley  went  away  with  her  head  full 
of  plans  for  the  success  of  the  affair  she  was  so 
sure  ought  to  take  place.  It  was  difficult  for  her  to 
understand  how  Ellen,  who  had  known  so  much  of 
the  best  social  life  in  a  city  where  there  is  no  end  to 
the  round  of  formal  entertaining,  could  be  now  as 
indifferent  as  Martha  understood  she  really  was  to 
all  experience  of  the  sort.  It  was  association  with 
Redfield  Pepper  Burns  which  had  done  it,  Martha 
supposed.  But  was  he  to  do  all  the  influencing,  and 
Ellen  to  do  none  ?  It  looked  like  it  —  to  Martha. 

Left  alone  with  Bob,  Ellen  made  him  ready  for 


46  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

the  little  village  kindergarten  which  he  had  lately 
begun  to  attend.  Before  he  went  he  put  up  both 
arms,  and  she  bent  to  him. 

"I'm  going  to  be  a  pretty  good  boy  to-day,  Aunt 
Ellen,"  said  he.  "I  promised  Uncle  Red  I  would. 
But  I  don't  like  to  skip  in  the  circle  with  girls. 
Why  need  I?" 

"Would  you  rather  skip  with  boys,  dear?" 

"Lots  rather.  But  the  girls  keep  asking  me. 
Why  do  they,  when  I  don't  ask  them?" 

Ellen  smiled  down  into  the  questioning  little  face, 
its  dark  eyes  looking  seriously  up  into  hers  through 
long  and  curly  lashes.  Bob  was  undoubtedly  a  hand 
some  little  lad,  and  the  reason  why  the  girls  —  dis 
cerning  small  creatures,  true  to  their  femininity  — • 
should  be  persistent  in  inviting  him  to  be  their 
partner  was  obvious  enough. 

"Because  that's  part  of  the  skipping  game, 
Bobbsy.  I'd  ask  the  girls  sometimes  —  and,  do 
you  know,  I  think  it  would  be  fine  to  ask  some  of 
the  little  girls  whom  the  other  boys  don't  ask. 
Do  you  know  any?" 

Bob  considered.  "I  guess  I  do.  But  why  do 
I  have  to  ask  them?" 

"Because  they're  not  having  as  much  fun  as  the 
others.  You  wouldn't  like  never  to  be  asked  by 
anybody,  would  you?" 

"I  don't   care  'bout   any  girls  ever  asking  me," 


BURNS  DOES  HIS  DUTY  47 

Bob  insisted  stoutly.  "I  like  boy  games  better  — 
*  circus'  and  'grandfather's  barn.'  Only  they  let 
the  girls  play  those  too,"  he  added,  disgustedly. 

He  started  away.  But  he  came  back  again  to 
say,  soberly,  "I'll  ask  Jennie  Hobson,  if  you  want  me 
to,  Aunt  Ellen.  She's  some  like  a  boy,  anyway. 
Her  hair's  cut  tight  to  her  head  —  and  her  eyes  are 
funny.  They  don't  look  at  you  the  same." 

"Do  ask  her,  Bob.  And  tell  me  how  she  liked  it." 
And  Ellen  looked  affectionately  after  the  small, 
straight  little  figure  trudging  away  down  the 
street. 

Martha's  plans  for  her  reception  went  on  merrily. 
On  the  day  set  she  came  hurrying  over  before  break 
fast,  to  administer  to  her  brother-in-law  a  final 
admonition  concerning  the  coming  evening. 

"I  hope  this  isn't  going  to  be  the  busiest  day  of 
your  life?"  she  urged  Burns. 

"It's  bound  to  be,  —  getting  things  clear  for 
to-night,"  he  assured  her,  good-humou redly. 

"Promise  me  you  won't  let  anything  short  of 
a  case  of  life  or  death  keep  you  away?" 

"It's  as  serious  as  that,  is  it?  All  right,  I'll  be 
on  hand,  unless  the  heavens  fall." 

He  was  good  as  his  word,  and  at  the  appointed 
hour  his  hostess,  keeping  an  agitated  watch  on  her 
neighbour's  house,  saw  him  arrive,  in  plenty  of  time 
to  dress.  She  drew  a  relieved  breath. 


48  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

"I  didn't  expect  it,"  she  said  to  James  Macauley, 
her  husband. 

"Oh,  Red's  game.  He  won't  run  away  from  this, 
much  as  he  hates  it.  Like  the  rest  of  us  married 
men,  he  knows  when  dodging  positively  won't  do," 
and  Macauley  sighed  as  he  settled  his  tie  before  the 
reception-room  mirror,  obtaining  a  view  of  himself 
with  some  difficulty,  on  account  of  the  towering 
masses  of  flowers  and  foliage  which  obscured  the  glass. 

When  Burns  and  Ellen  came  across  the  lawn, 
Martha  flew  to  meet  them. 

"You  splendid  people!  Who  wouldn't  want  to 
have  a  reception  for  such  a  pair?" 

"We  flatter  ourselves  we  do  look  pretty  fine," 
Burns  admitted,  eying  his  wife  with  satisfaction. 
"That  gauzy  gray  thing  Ellen  has  on  strikes  me  as 
the  bulliest  yet.  If  I  could  just  get  her  to  wear  a 
pink  rose  in  her  hair  I'd  be  satisfied." 

"A  rose  in  her  hair!  Aren't  you  satisfied  with 
that  exquisite  coral  necklace?  That  gives  the 
touch  of  colour  she  needs.  The  rose  would  overdo 
it  —  and  wouldn't  match,  besides."  Martha  spoke 
with  scorn. 

"Yes,  a  rose  would  be  maudlin,  Red;  can't  you  see 
it?"  James  Macauley  gave  his  opinion  with  a  wink 
at  his  friend.  "With  the  necklace  your  wife  is 
a  dream.  With  a  rose  added  she'd  be  a  —  waking 
up!  Trust  'em,  that's  my  advice.  When  they  get 


BURNS  DOES  HIS  DUTY  49 

to  talking  about  a  *  touch  of  anything,  that's  the 
time  to  leave  'em  alone.  A  touch  of  colour  is  not 
a  daub." 

"Who's  lecturing  on  art?"  queried  Arthur  Chester, 
from  the  doorway. 

His  wife,  Winifred,  entering  before  him,  cried 
out  at  sight  of  the  pale  gray  gauze  gown. 

"O  Ellen!  I  thought  I  looked  pretty  well,  till  I 
caught  sight  of  you.  Now  I  feel  crude!" 

"Absurd,"  said  Ellen,  laughing.  "You  are  charm 
ing  in  that  blue." 

"There  they  go  again,"  groaned  Macauley  to 
Burns.  "Winifred  feels  crude,  when  she  looks  at 
Ellen.  Why?  I  don't  feel  crude  when  I  look  at 
you  or  Art  Chester.  Neither  of  you  has  so  late 
a  cut  on  your  dress-coat  as  I,  I  flatter  myself.  I  feel 
anything  but  crude.  And  I  don't  want  a  rose  in 
my  hair,  either." 

"You're  a  self-satisfied  prig,"  retorted  Burns. 
"Hullo!  Somebody's  coming.  Tell  me  what  to  do, 
Martha.  Do  I  run  to  meet  them  and  rush  them  up 
to  Ellen,  or  do  I  display  a  studied  indifference? 
I  never  'received'  at  a  reception  in  my  life." 

"Get  in  line  there,"  instructed  Macauley.  "Mar 
tha  and  I'll  greet  them  first  and  pass  them  on  to  you. 
Don't  look  as  if  you  were  noting  symptoms  and 
don't  absent-mindedly  feel  their  pulses.  It's  not 
done,  outside  of  consulting  rooms." 


50  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

"I'll  try  to  remember."  R.  P.  Burns,  M.  D. 
resignedly  took  his  place,  murmuring  in  Ellen's  ear, 
as  the  first  comers  appeared  at  the  door,  "Promise 
you'll  make  this  up  to  me,  when  it's  over.  I  shall 
have  to  blow  off  steam,  somehow.  Will  you  help?" 

She  nodded,  laughing.  He  chuckled,  as  an  idea 
popped  into  his  head;  then  drew  his  face  into  lines 
of  propriety,  and  stood,  a  big,  dignified  figure  — 
for  Red  Pepper  could  be  dignified  when  the  necessity 
was  upon  him  —  beside  the  other  graceful  figure 
at  his  side,  suggesting  an  unfailing  support  of  her 
grace  by  his  strength  to  all  who  looked  at  them  that 
night.  He  had  declared  himself  ignorant  of  all 
conventions,  but  neither  jocose  James  Macauley  nor 
fastidious  Arthur  Chester,  observing  him,  could 
find  any  fault  with  their  friend  in  this  new  role. 
As  the  stream  of  their  townspeople  passed  by,  each 
with  a  carefully  prepared  word  of  greeting,  Burns 
was  ready  with  a  quick-wittedly  amiable  rejoinder. 
And  whenever  it  became  his  duty  to  present  to  his 
wife  those  who  did  not  know  her,  he  made  of  the  act 
a  little  ceremony  which  seemed  to  set  her  apart  as 
his  own  in  a  way  which  roused  no  little  envy  of  her, 
if  he  had  but  known  it,  in  the  breasts  of  certain  of 
the  feminine  portion  of  the  company. 

"You're  doing  nobly.  Keep  it  up  an  hour  longer 
and  you  shall  be  let  off,"  said  Macauley  to  Burns, 
at  a  moment  when  both  were  free. 


BURNS  DOES  HIS  DUTY  51 

"Oh,  I'm  having  the  time  of  my  life,"  Burns 
assured  him  grimly,  mopping  a  warm  brow  and 
thrusting  his  chin  forward  with  that  peculiar  mas 
culine  movement  which  suggests  momentary  relief 
from  an  encompassing  collar.  "Why  should  any 
body  want  to  be  released  from  such  a  soul-refreshing 
diversion  as  this?  I've  lost  all  track  of  time  or 
sense, —  I  just  go  on  grinning  and  assenting  to 
everything  anybody  says  to  me.  I  couldn't  discuss 
the  simplest  subject  with  any  intelligence  whatever 
—  I've  none  left." 

"You  don't  need  any.  Decent  manners  and  the 
grin  will  do.  Had  anything  to  eat  yet?" 

"What's  got  to  be  eaten?"  Burns  demanded, 
unhappily. 

"Punch,  and  ices  —  and  little  cakes,  I  believe. 
Cheer  up,  man,  you  don't  have  to  eat  'em,  if  you 
don't  want  to." 

"Thanks  for  that.  I'll  remember  it  of  you  when 
greater  favours  have  been  forgotten.  Martha  has 
her  eye  on  me  —  I  must  go.  I'll  get  even  with 
Martha  for  this,  some  time."  And  the  guest  of 
honour,  stuffing  his  handkerchief  out  of  sighf  and 
thrusting  his  coppery,  thick  locks  back  from  his 
martyred  brow,  obeyed  the  summons. 

The  next  time  Macauley  caught  sight  of  him, 
he  was  assiduously  supplying  a  row  of  elderly  ladies 
with  ices  and  little  cakes,  and  smiling  at  them  most 


52  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

engagingly.  They  were  looking  up  at  him  with 
that  grateful  expression  which  many  elderly  ladies 
unconsciously  assume  when  a  handsome  and  robust 
young  man  devotes  himself  to  them.  Burns  found 
this  task  least  trying  of  all  his  duties  during  that 
long  evening,  for  one  of  the  row  reminded  him  of 
his  own  mother,  to  whom  he  was  a  devoted  son,  and 
for  her  sake  he  would  give  all  aging  women  of  his 
best.  Something  about  this  little  group  of  un 
attended  guests,  all  living  more  or  less  lonely  lives, 
as  he  well  knew  them  in  their  homes,  touched  his 
warm  heart,  and  he  lingered  with  them  to  the 
neglect  of  younger  and  fairer  faces,  until  his  host, 
again  at  his  elbow,  in  a  strenuous  whisper  admon 
ished  him: 

"For  heaven's  sake,  Red,  don't  waste  any  more 
of  that  rare  sweetness  on  the  desert  air.  Go  and 
lavish  your  Beau  Brummel  gallantry  on  the  wives 
of  our  leading  citizens.  Those  new  Winterbournes 
have  sackfuls  of  money  —  and  a  chronic  invalid  or 
two  always  in  the  family,  I'm  told.  A  little  atten 
tion  there " 

"Clear  out,"  Burns  retorted  shortly,  and  deliber 
ately  sat  down  beside  the  little,  white-haired  old 
lady  who  reminded  him  of  his  mother.  As  he  had 
been  standing  before,  this  small  act  was  significant, 
and  Macauley,  with  a  comprehending  chuckle,  moved 
away  again. 


BURNS  DOES  HIS  DUTY  53 

"Might  have  known  that  wouldn't  work/'  he 
assured  himself.  He  strolled  over  to  Ellen,  and 
when,  after  some  time,  he  succeeded  in  getting  her 
for  a  moment  to  himself,  he  put  an  interested 
question. 

"What  do  you  think  of  your  husband  as  a  society 
man?  A  howling  success,  eh?  He's  been  sitting 
for  one  quarter  of  an  hour  by  the  side  of  old  Mrs. 
Gillis.  And  a  whole  roomful  of  devoted  patients, 
past  and  future,  looking  daggers  at  him  because  he 
ignores  them.  How's  that  for  business  policy,  eh? 
Can't  you  bring  him  to  his  senses?" 

"Are  you  sure  they're  looking  daggers?  I  passed 
Mrs.  Gillis  and  Red  just  now,  and  thought  they  made 
a  delightful  pair.  As  for  business  policy,  Jim, —  a 
man  who  would  be  good  to  an  old  lady  would  be 
good  to  a  young  one.  Isn't  that  the  natural  inference, 
—  if  you  must  think  about  business  at  all  at  such  an 
affair.  I  prefer  not  to  think  about  it  at  all." 

"You  may  not  be  thinking  about  it,  but  you're 
capturing  friends,  right  and  left.  I've  been  watch 
ing  you,  and  knew  by  the  expression  on  the  faces  of 
those  you  were  talking  to  that  you  were  gathering 
them  in  and  nailing  them  fast.  How  does  a  woman 
like  you  do  it?  —  that's  what  I'd  like  to  know!" 

"Go  and  do  your  duty  like  a  man,  Jimmy.  Flat 
tering  the  members  of  your  own  family  is  not  a  part 
of  it."  Dismissing  him  with  a  smile  which  made 


54  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

him  more  than  ever  eager  for  her  company,  she 
turned  away,  to  devote  herself,  as  her  husband  was 
doing,  to  the  least  attractive  of  the  guests. 

The  evening  wore  away  at  last,  and  at  a  reasonably 
early  hour  the  hosts  were  free.  The  last  fellow  citi 
zen  had  barely  delivered  his  parting  speech  and  taken 
himself  off  when  Red  Pepper  Burns  turned  a  hand 
spring  in  the  middle  of  the  deserted  room,  and 
came  up  grinning  like  a  fiend. 

"Good-bye  —  good-bye  —  'tis  a  word  I  love  to 
speak,"  he  warbled,  and  seizing  his  wife  kissed  her 
ardently  on  either  cheek. 

"Hear  —  hear!"  applauded  James  Macauley,  re 
turning  from  the  hall  in  time  to  see  this  expres 
sion  of  joy.  "May  we  all  follow  your  excellent 
example?' 

"You  may  not."  Red  Pepper  frowned  fiercely 
at  Mr.  Macauley,  approaching  with  mischievous 
intent.  "Keep  off!" 

"  She's  my  sister-in-law,"  defended  Macauley,  con 
tinuing  to  draw  near,  and  smiling  broadly. 

"All  the  more  reason  for  you  to  treat  her  with 
respect."  Burns 's  arm  barred  the  way. 

Macauley  stopped  short  with  an  unbelieving 
chuckle.  Arthur  Chester,  Winifred,  his  wife,  and 
Martha  Macauley,  coming  in  from  the  dining-room 
together,  gazed  with  interest  at  the  scene  before 
them.  Ellen,  herself  smiling,  looked  at  her  husband 


BURNS  DOES  HIS  DUTY  55 

rather  as  if  she  saw  something  in  him  she  had  never 
seen  before.  For  it  was  impossible  not  to  perceive 
that  he  was  not  joking  as  he  prevented  Macauley 
from  reaching  his  wife. 

"Great  snakes!  he's  in  earnest!"  howled  Ma 
cauley,  stopping  short.  "He  won't  let  me  kiss 
his  wife,  when  I'm  the  husband  of  her  sister.  Go 
'way,  man,  and  cool  that  red  head  of  yours.  Any 
body 'd  think  I  was  going  to  elope  with  her!" 

"Think  what  you  like,"  Burns  retorted,  coolly, 
"so  long  as  you  keep  your  distance  with  your  foolery. 
You  or  any  other  man." 

"Red,  you're  not  serious!"  This  was  Martha. 
"Can't  you  trust  Ellen  to  preserve  her  own " 

"Dead  line?  Yes  —  in  my  absence.  When  I'm 
on  the  spot  I  prefer  to  play  picket-duty  myself. 
I  may  be  eccentric.  But  that's  one  of  my  notions, 
and  I've  an  idea  it's  one  of  hers,  too." 

"Better  get  her  a  veil,  you  Turk." 

Macauley  walked  away  with  a  very  red  face,  at 
which  Burns  unexpectedly  burst  into  a  laugh,  and 
his  good  humour  came  back  with  a  rush. 

"Look  here,  you  people.  Forget  my  heroics 
and  come  over  to  our  house.  I'll  give  you  some 
thing  to  take  the  taste  of  those  idiotic  little  cakes 
out  of  your  hungry  mouths.  No  refusals!  I'm 
your  best  friend,  Jim  Macauley,  and  you  know  it, 
so  come  along  and  don't  act  like  a  small  boy  who's 


56  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

had  his  candy  taken  away  from  him.  You've 
plenty  of  candy  of  your  own,  you  know." 

He  was  his  gay  self  again,  and  bore  them  away 
with  him  on  the  wave  of  his  boyish  spirits.  Across 
the  lawn  and  into  the  house  they  went,  the  six,  and 
were  conducted  into  the  living-room  and  bidden 
settle  down  around  the  fireplace. 

"Start  a  fire,  Jim,  and  get  a  bed  of  cannel  going 
with  a  roar.  You'll  find  the  stuff  in  that  willow 
basket.  Open  all  the  windows,  Ches.  Then  all 
make  yourselves  comfortable  and  await  my  opera 
tions.  I  promise  you  a  treat  —  from  my  point 
of  view." 

And  he  rushed  away. 

"It's  my  private  opinion,"  growled  Macauley, 
beginning  sulkily  to  lay  the  fire,  "that  that  fellow 
is  off  his  head.  He  always  did  seem  a  trifle  cracked, 
and  to-night  he's  certainly  dippy.  What's  he  going 
to  do  with  a  fire,  at  II  p.  M.,  on  a  May  evening,  I'd 
like  to  know?" 

"Whatever  it  is,  it  will  be  refreshing."  Winifred 
Chester,  reckless  of  her  delicate  blue  evening  gown, 
curled  herself  up  in  a  corner  of  the  big  davenport 
and  laid  her  head  luxuriously  down  among  the 
pillows.  "Oh,  I'm  so  tired,"  she  sighed.  "Seems 
to  me  I  never  heard  so  many  stupid  things  said,  in 
one  evening,  in  my  life." 

Arthur  Chester,  having  thrown  every  window  wide 


BURNS  DOES  HIS  DUTY  57 

—  though  he  discreetly  drew  the  curtains  over  those 
which  faced  the  street  —  sat  down  in  a  great  winged 
chair  of  comfortable  cushioning,  and  stretched  his 
legs  in  front  of  him  as  far  as  they  would  go,  his  arms 
clasped  behind  his  head.     He  also  drew  a  deep  sigh 
of  content. 

"I  don't  recall,"  said  he,  wearily,  "that  I  have 
sat  down  once  during  the  entire  evening." 

"How  ridiculous!"  cried  Martha  Macauley, 
bristling.  "If  you  didn't,  it  was  your  own  fault. 
I  took  away  hardly  any  chairs,  and  I  arranged 
several  splendid  corners  just  on  purpose  for  those 
who  wished  to  sit." 

"As  there  were  a  couple  of  hundred  people,  and  not 

over  a  couple  of  dozen  chairs "  began  Chester, 

dryly. 

But  Martha  interrupted  him.  "I  never  saw  such 
a  set.  Just  as  if  you  hadn't  been  going  to  affairs 
like  this  one  all  your  lives, —  and  Ellen,  especially, 
must  have  been  at  hundreds  of  them  in  Washington, 

—  and  now  you're  all  disgusted  with  having  to  bear 
up  under  just  one  little  informal " 

"Cheer  up,  my  children,"  called  Burns,  reenter- 
ing.  He  was  garbed  in  white,  which  his  guests  saw 
after  a  moment  to  be  a  freshly  laundered  surgical 
gown,  covering  him  from  head  to  foot,  the  sleeves 
reaching  only  to  his  elbows,  beneath  which  his  bare 
arms  gleamed  sturdily.  He  bore  a  wire  broiler 


58  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

in  one  hand,  and  a  platter  of  something  in  the  other, 
and  his  face  wore  an  expression  of  content. 

"Beefsteak,  by  all  that's  crazy!"  shouted  James 
Macauley,  eying  the  generous  expanse  of  raw  meat 
upon  the  platter  with  undisguised  delight.  He 
forgot  his  sulkiness  in  an  instant,  and  slapped  his 
friend  upon  the  back  with  a  resounding  blow. 
"  Bully  for  Red!  "he  cried. 

"Well,  well!  Of  all  the  wild  ideas!"  murmured 
Arthur  Chester.  But  he  sat  up  in  his  chair,  and  his 
expression  grew  definitely  more  cheerful. 

Winifred  laughed  out  with  anticipation.  "Oh, 
how  good  that  will  taste!"  she  exclaimed,  hugging 
herself  in  her  own  pretty  arms.  "It  is  just  what  we 
want,  after  wearing  ourselves  out  being  agreeable. 
Who  but  Red  would  ever  think  of  such  a  thing,  at 
this  time  of  night?" 

"I  believe  it  will  taste  good,"  and  Martha  Ma 
cauley  laid  her  head  back  at  last  against  the  encom 
passing  comfort  of  the  chair  she  sat  in,  and  for  the 
first  time  relaxed  from  the  duties  of  hostess  and  the 
succeeding  defence  of  her  hospitality. 

"Don't  you  want  my  help,  Red?"  his  wife  asked 
him,  at  his  elbow. 

He  turned  and  looked  at  the  gray  gauze  gown. 
"I  should  say  not,"  said  he.  "Lie  back,  all  of  you, 
and  take  your  ease,  which  you  have  richly  earned, 
while  I  play  chef.  Nothing  will  suit  me  better. 


BURNS  DOES  HIS  DUTY  59 

I'm  boiling  over  with  restrained  emotion,  and  this 
will  work  it  off.  Lie  back,  while  I  imagine  that  it's 
one  of  the  male  guests  who  bored  me  whom  I'm 
grilling  now.  I'll  do  him  to  a  turn!" 

He  proceeded  with  his  operations,  working  the 
quick  fire  of  cannel  which  Macauley  had  started 
into  a  glowing  bed  of  hot  coals.  He  improvised 
from  the  andirons  a  rack  for  his  broiler,  and  set  the 
steak  to  cooking.  While  he  heated  plates,  sliced 
bread,  and  brought  knives,  forks,  and  napkins,  he 
kept  an  experienced  eye  upon  his  broiler,  and  saw 
that  it  was  continually  turned  and  shifted,  in  order 
to  get  the  best  results.  And  presently  he  was  laying 
his  finished  product  upon  the  hot  platter,  seasoning 
it,  applying  a  rich  dressing  of  butter,  and,  at  last, 
preparing  with  a  flourish  of  the  knife  to  carve  it. 

It  was  at  this  to-be-expected  moment  that  the 
office-bell  rang.  Miss  Mathewson  summoned  her 
employer,  and  Burns  stayed  only  to  serve  his  guests, 
before  he  left  them  hungrily  consuming  his  offering 
and  bewailing  his  departure. 

"Only,"  Martha  Macauley  said,  "we  ought  to  be 
thankful  that  for  once  he  got  through  an  evening 
without  being  called  out." 

Ellen  had  placed  her  husband's  portion  where  it 
would  keep  hot  for  him,  and  the  others  had  nearly 
finished  consuming  their  own,  when  Burns  came  in. 
He  made  for  the  fire,  amid  the  greetings  and  praises 


60  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

of  his  guests,  and  served  his  own  plate  with  the 
portion  remaining  on  the  platter,  covering  it  liberally 
with  the  rich  gravy.  Then  he  cut  and  buttered  two 
thick  slices  of  bread  and  laid  them  on  the  plate. 

"Sit  down,  sit  down,  man!"  urged  Macauley, 
as  his  host  rose  to  his  feet.  "We're  waiting  to  see 
you  enjoy  this  magnificent  result  of  your  cookery. 
It's  the  best  steak  I've  had  in  a  blue  moon. " 

"If  you'll  excuse  me,  I'm  going  to  take  mine  in 
the  office,"  Burns  explained.  "Can't  leave  my 
patient  just  yet. "  And  he  went  away  again,  carry 
ing  his  plate,  napkin  over  his  arm. 

Five  minutes  later  Macauley,  putting  down  his 
empty  plate,  got  up  and  strolled  out  into  the  hall. 
A  moment  afterward  he  was  heard  abruptly  closing 
the  office  door,  saying,  "Oh,  I  beg  pardon!"  Then 
he  returned  to  the  company.  He  was  whistling 
softly  as  he  came,  his  hands  in  his  pockets  and  his 
eyebrows  lifted. 

"He  is  dippy,"  he  said,  solemnly.  "No  man 
in  his  senses  would  act  like  that. " 

"You  eavesdropper,  what  did  you  see?"  Winifred 
Chester  looked  at  him  expectantly. 

"I  saw  the  worst-looking  specimen  of  tramp 
humanity  who  has  come  under  my  observation  for 
a  year,  with  a  bandage  over  one  eye.  He  is  sitting 
in  that  big  chair  with  a  plate  and  napkin  in  his  lap, 
and  his  ugly  mouth  is  full  of  beefsteak. " 


BURNS  DOES  HIS  DUTY  61 

44 And  isn't  Red  having  any?"  cried  Martha,  with 
a  glance  at  the  empty  platter. 

"Not  a  smell.  He's  standing  up  by  the  chimney- 
piece,  looking  the  picture  of  contentment  —  the 
idiot.  But  he  modified  his  benevolent  expression 
long  enough  to  give  me  a  glare,  when  he  saw  me 
looking  in.  That's  the  second  glare  I've  had  from 
him  to-night,  and  I'm  going  home.  I  can't  stand 
incurring  his  displeasure  a  third  time  in  one  day. 
Come,  Martha,  let's  get  back  to  our  happy  home  — 
what  there  is  left  of  it  after  the  -fray.  We'll  send 
over  a  plate  of  little  cakes  for  the  master  of  the  house. 
A  couple  of  dozen  of  them  may  fill  up  that  yawning 
cavity  of  his.  Of  all  the  foolishness!" 


CHAPTER  IV 

A    RED    HEAD 

MARRIAGE,"  said  James  Macauley,  looking 
thoughtfully  into  his  coffee  cup,  as  he  sat 
opposite  his  wife,  Martha,  at  the  breakfast-table, 
"is  supposed  to  change  a  man  radically.  The 
influence  of  a  good  and  lovely  woman  can  hardly  be 
overestimated.  But  the  question  is,  can  the  temper 
of  a  red-headed  explosive  ever  be  rendered  uninflam 
mable?" 

"What  are  you  talking  about?"  Martha  inquired, 
with  interest.  "Ellen  and  Red?  Red  is  changed. 
I  never  saw  him  so  dear  and  tractable. " 

"Dear  and  tractable,  is  he?  Have  you  happened 
to  encounter  him  in  the  last  twenty-four  hours?" 

"No.  What's  the  matter?  He  and  Ellen  can't 
possibly  have  had  any  —  misunderstanding?  And 
if  they  had,  they  wouldn't  tell  you  about  it. " 

"Well,  they  may  not  have  had  a  misunderstand 
ing,  but  if  Ellen  succeeds  in  understanding  him 
through  the  present  crisis  she'll  prove  herself  a 
remarkable  woman.  As  near  as  I  can  make  it  out, 
Red  is  mad,  fighting  mad,  clear  through,  with 

62 


A  RED  HEAD  63 

somebody  or  something,  and  he  can  no  more  dis 
guise  it  than  he  ever  could.     I  don't  suppose  it's 
with  anybody  at  home,  of  course,  but  it  makes  him 
anything  but  an  angel,  there  or  anywhere  else. " 
"Where  did  you  see  him?     Hush  —  Mary's  com- 

ing!" 

Macauley  waited  obediently  till  the  maid  had 
left  the  room  again.  Then  he  proceeded.  He  had 
not  begun  upon  the  present  subject  until  the  children 
had  gone  away,  leaving  the  father  and  mother  alone 
together. 

"I  ran  into  his  office  last  night,  after  those  throat- 
tablets  he  gives  me,  and  heard  him  at  the  telephone 
in  the  private  office.  Couldn't  help  hearing  him. 
He  was  giving  the  everlasting  quietus  to  somebody, 
and  I  thought  he'd  burn  out  the  transmitter. " 

"Jim!  Red  doesn't  swear  any  more.  He  surely 
hasn't  taken  it  up  again?" 

"He  didn't  do  any  technical  swearing,  perhaps, 
but  he  might  as  well.  He  can  put  more  giant- 
powder  into  the  English  language  without  actually 
breaking  any  commandments  than  anybody  I  ever 
heard.  When  he  came  out  he  had  that  look  of  his  — 
you  know  it  of  old  —  so  that  if  I'd  been  a  timid  chap 
I'd  have  backed  out.  He  gave  me  my  throat- 
tablets  without  so  much  as  answering  my  explanation 
of  how  I  came  to  be  out  of  them  so  soon.  Then  I 
got  away,  I  assure  you.  He  had  no  use  for  me.  '* 


64  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

"He's  probably  all  right  this  morning.  Ellen 
could  quiet  him  down. " 

"She  didn't  get  the  chance.  The  light  in  his 
old  room  burned  all  night, —  and  you  know  he's  not 
sleeping  there  now." 

"Well,  I'm  sorry  for  her."  Martha  rose,  her 
brow  clouded.  "But  I'd  never  dare  to  ask  her  what 
the  trouble  was,  and  she'll  never  tell,  so  there  it  is. " 

"It  certainly  is  —  right  there.  Oh,  well,  he'll 
get  over  it,  if  you  give  him  time.  Queer,  what  a 
combination  of  big  heart  and  red  head  he  is. " 

At  the  moment  of  this  discussion  the  red  head  was 
still  in  the  ascendency.  R.  P.  Burns,  M.  D.,  had 
come  out  of  his  old  quarters  downstairs  that  morning 
with  lips  set  grimly  together,  heavy  gloom  upon  his 
brow.  He  met  his  wife  at  the  breakfast-table  with 
an  effort  at  a  smile  in  response  to  her  bright  look, 
and  kissed  her  as  tenderly  as  usual,  but  it  was  an 
automatic  tenderness,  as  she  was  quick  to  recognize. 
He  replied  monosyllabically  to  her  observations 
concerning  matters  usually  of  interest  to  him, 
but  he  evidently  had  no  words  to  spare,  and  after 
a  little  she  gave  over  all  effort  to  draw  him  out. 
Instead,  she  and  Bob  held  an  animated  discussion 
on  certain  kindergarten  matters,  while  Red  Pepper 
swallowed  his  breakfast  in  silence,  gulped  down  two 
cups  of  strong  coffee,  and  left  the  table  with  only 
a  murmured  word  of  apology. 


A  RED  HEAD  65 

"Red, "     His  wife's  voice  followed  him. 

He  turned,  without  speaking. 

"Do  you  mind  if  I  drive  into  town  with  you  this 
morning  ?" 

He  nodded,  and  turned  again,  striding  on  into  his 
office  and  closing  the  door  with  a  bang.  She  under 
stood  that  his  nod  meant  acquiescence  with  her 
request,  rather  than  affirmation  as  to  his  objecting 
to  her  company.  She  kept  close  watch  over  the 
movements  of  the  Green  Imp,  suspecting  that  in 
his  present  mood  Burns  might  forget  to  call  her,  and 
when  the  car  came  down  the  driveway  she  was 
waiting  on  the  office  steps. 

It  would  have  been  an  ill-humoured  man  indeed, 
whose  eyes  could  have  rested  upon  her  standing  there 
and  not  have  noted  the  charm  of  her  graceful  figure, 
her  face  looking  out  at  him  from  under  a  modishly 
attractive  hat.  Ellen's  smile,  from  under  the 
shadowing  brim,  was  as  whole-heartedly  sweet  as 
if  she  were  meeting  the  look  of  worshipful  com 
radeship  which  usually  fell  upon  her  when  she 
joined  her  husband  on  any  expedition  whatever. 
Instead,  she  encountered  something  like  a  glower 
from  the  hazel  eyes,  which  did,  however,  as  at 
breakfast,  soften  for  an  instant  at  the  moment  of 
meeting  hers. 

"Jump  in!  I'm  in  a  hurry,"  was  his  quite  needless 
command,  for  she  was  ready  to  take  her  place  the 


66  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

instant  the  car  drew  to  a  standstill,  and  the  delay 
she  made  him  was  hardly  appreciable. 

In  silence  they  drove  to  town,  and  at  a  pace 
which  took  them  past  everything  with  which  they 
came  up,  from  lumbering  farm-wagon  to  motor-cars 
far  more  powerful  and  speedy  than  the  Imp.  Ellen 
found  herself  well  blown  about  by  the  wind  they 
made,  though  there  was  none  stirring,  and  wished 
she  had  been  dressed  for  driving  instead  of  for  shop 
ping.  But  the  trip,  if  breezy,  was  brief,  though  it 
did  not  at  once  land  her  at  her  destination. 

Drawing  up  before  a  somewhat  imposing  residence, 
on  the  outskirts  of  the  city,  Burns  announced: 
" Can't  take  you  in  till  I've  made  this  call,"  and 
stopped  his  engine  with  a  finality  which  seemed  to 
indicate  that  he  should  be  in  no  haste  to  start  it 
again. 

"It  doesn't  matter  in  the  least.  I  shall  enjoy 
sitting  here,"  his  wife  responded,  still  outwardly 
unruffled  by  his  manner.  She  looked  in  vain  for 
his  customary  glance  of  leave-taking,  and  watched 
him  stride  away  up  the  walk  to  the  house  with  a 
sense  of  wonder  that  even  his  back  could  somehow 
look  so  aggressive. 

She  had  not  more  than  settled  herself  when  a 
handsome  roadster  appeared  rushing  rapidly  down 
the  road  from  the  direction  of  the  city  and  came  to  a 
stop,  facing  her,  before  the  house.  She  recognized 


A  RED  HEAD  67 

in  the  well-groomed  figure  which  stepped  out,  case 
in  hand,  one  of  the  city  surgeons  with  whom  her 
husband  was  often  closely  associated  in  his  hospital 
work,  Dr.  Van  Horn.  He  was  a  decade  older  than 
Red,  possessed  a  strikingly  impressive  personality, 
and  looked,  to  the  last  detail,  like  a  man  accus 
tomed  to  be  deferred  to. 

Descending,  he  caught  sight  of  Ellen,  and  came 
across  to  the  Imp,  hat  in  hand,  and  motoring-glove 
withdrawn. 

"Ah,  Mrs.  Burns, —  accompanying  your  husband 
on  this  matchless  morning?  He  is  a  fortunate  man. 
You  don't  mind  the  waiting?  My  wife  thinks  there 
is  nothing  so  unendurable, —  she  has  no  patience 
with  the  length  of  my  calls. " 

"I've  not  had  much  experience,  as  yet,"  Ellen 
replied,  looking  into  the  handsome,  middle-aged 
face  before  her,  and  thinking  that  the  smile  under 
the  close-clipped,  iron-gray  moustache  was  one 
which  could  be  cynical  more  easily  than  it  could  be 
sympathetic.  "But,  so  far,  I  find  the  waiting,  in 
such  weather,  very  endurable.  I  often  bring  a  book, 
and  then  it  never  matters,  you  know." 

"Of  course  not.  You  are  familiar  with  Balzac's 
'Country  Doctor'?  There's  a  tribute  to  men  like 
your  husband,  who  devote  their  lives  to  the  humble 
folk."  He  glanced  toward  the  house.  "I  mustn't 
keep  my  colleague  waiting,  even  for  the  pleasure 


68  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

of  a  chat  with  you.  He's  not  —  you'll  pardon  me  — 
so  good  a  waiter  as  yourself!" 

He  went  away,  smiling.  Ellen  looked  after  him 
with  a  little  frown  of  displeasure.  From  the  first 
moment  of  meeting  him,  some  months  ago,  she  had 
not  liked  Dr.  James  Van  Horn.  He  was  the  city's 
most  fashionable  surgeon,  she  knew,  and  had  a 
large  practice  among  folk  the  reverse  of  "humble." 
She  had  seen  in  his  eyes  that  he  liked  to  look  at  her, 
and  knew  that  in  the  moment  he  had  stood  beside 
her  he  had  lost  no  detail  of  her  face.  He  had  also, 
after  some  subtle  fashion,  managed  to  express  his 
admiration  by  his  own  look,  though  with  his 
smoothly  spoken  words  he  had  not  hesitated  to  say 
a  thing  about  her  husband  which  was  at  once  some 
how  a  compliment  and  a  stab. 

"I  can't  imagine  Dr.  Van  Horn  taking  much 
pains  with  'humble  folk,'"  Ellen  said  to  herself. 
"Yet  he's  evidently  consulting  with  Red  at  this 
house,  which  doesn't  seem  exactly  a  'humble'  abode. 
I  wonder  if  they  get  on  well  together.  They're  cer 
tainly  not  much  alike. " 

The  wait  proved  to  be  a  long  one.  Ellen  had 
studied  her  surroundings  with  thoroughness  in  every 
direction  before  the  house-door  opened  at  last,  and 
the  two  men  came  down  the  walk  together.  They 
were  talking  earnestly  as  they  came,  and  at  a  point 
some  yards  away  they  ceased  to  advance,  and  stood 


A  RED  HEAD  69 

still,  evidently  in  tense  discussion  over  the  case  just 
left.  They  spoke  in  the  low  tones  customary  with 
men  of  their  profession,  and  their  words  did  not 
reach  Ellen's  ears.  But  it  was  not  difficult  to  recog 
nize,  as  she  watched  their  faces,  that  they  were  dif 
fering,  and  differing  radically,  on  the  matter  in  hand- 

They  had  turned  to  face  each  other,  and  neither 
looked  her  way,  so  it  was  possible  for  Ellen  to  study 
the  two  without  fear  of  intrusion.  They  made  an 
interesting  study,  certainly.  Dr.  Van  Horn's  face 
was  impassive  as  to  the  play  of  his  features,  except 
that  he  smiled,  from  time  to  time,  —  a  smile  which 
bore  out  Ellen's  previous  feeling  concerning  its  pos 
sibilities  for  cynicism  rather  than  sympathy.  His 
eyes,  however,  steely  blue  and  cold  in  their  expres 
sion,  told  more  than  his  face  of  antagonism  to  the 
man  with  whom  he  spoke.  But  his  command  of 
manner,  to  the  outward  observer,  who  could  not 
hear  his  words,  was  perfect. 

As  for  R.  P.  Burns,  M.  D.,  there  was  no  disguising 
the  fact  that  he  was  intensely  angry.  That  he 
strove,  and  strove  hard,  to  control  his  manner,  if 
not  his  anger,  was  perfectly  evident  to  his  wife,  but 
that  he  was  succeeding  ill  at  the  task  was  painfully 
apparent.  His  colour  was  high  —  it  nearly  matched 
his  hair;  his  eyes  burned  like  consuming  fires  under 
their  dark  brows;  his  lips  spoke  fast  and  fiercely. 
He  kept  his  voice  down  —  Ellen  was  thankful  for 


70  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

that  —  and  his  gestures,  though  forceful,  were 
controlled;  but  she  feared  at  every  moment  that  he 
would  break  out  into  open  show  of  temper,  and  it 
seemed  to  her  that  this  she  could  not  bear. 

She  had  never  before  seen  Red  Pepper  really 
angry.  She  had  been  told,  again  and  again  since 
her  first  meeting  with  him,  by  her  sister  and  her 
sister's  husband,  and  by  the  Chesters,  that  Burns 
was  capable  of  getting  into  a  red  rage  in  which 
nobody  could  influence  or  calm  him,  and  in  which 
he  could  or  would  not  control  himself.  They  in 
variably  added  that  these  hot  exhibitions  of  high 
temper  were  frequently  over  as  suddenly  as  they  had 
appeared,  and  usually  did  nobody  any  harm  what 
ever.  But  they  hinted  that  there  had  been  times 
in  the  past  when  Red  had  said  or  done  that  which 
could  not  be  forgiven  by  his  victims,  and  that  he 
had  more  than  once  alienated  people  of  standing 
whose  good-will  he  could  not  afford  to  lose. 

"He  keeps  a  woodpile  back  of  the  house,"  James 
Macauley  had  told  her  once,  laughingly,  in  the  last 
days  before  she  had  married  Burns,  "where  he 
works  off  a  good  deal  of  high  pressure.  If  you  catch 
a  glimpse  of  him  there,  at  unholy  hours,  you  may 
know  that  there's  murder  in  his  heart  —  for  the 
moment.  Art  Chester  vows  he's  caught  him  there 
at  midnight,  and  I  don't  doubt  it  in  the  least. 
But  —  a  woodpile  isn't  always  handy  when  a  man 


A  RED  HEAD  71 

is  mad  clear  through,  and  when  it  isn't,  and  you 
happen  to  be  the  one  who's  displeased  His  Pepperi- 
ness,  look  out!  I  give  you  fair  warning,  smiles  and 
kisses  won't  always  work  with  him,  much  as  he  may 
like  'em  when  he's  sane!" 

"I'm  not  afraid,  thank  you,  Jim,"  Ellen  had 
answered,  lightly.  "Better  a  red-hot  temper  than 
a  white-cold  one." 

She  thought  of  the  words  now,  as  she  saw  her 
husband  suddenly  turn  away  from  Dr.  Van  Horn, 
and  march  down  the  walk,  ahead  of  him.  The 
action  was  pretty  close  to  rudeness,  for  it  left  the 
elder  man  in  the  rear.  Evidently,  in  spite  of  his 
irritation,  Burns  instantly  realized  this,  for  he 
turned  again,  saying  quickly:  "I  beg  your  pardon, 
Doctor,  but  I've  got  a  lot  of  work  waiting. " 

"Don't  apologize,  Doctor,"  returned  the  other, 
with  perfect  courtesy.  "We  all  know  that  you  are 
the  busiest  man  among  us." 

His  face,  as  he  spoke,  was  as  pale  as  Burns's 
was  high-coloured,  and  Ellen  recognized  that  here 
were  the  two  sorts  of  wrath  in  apposition,  the 
"red"  sort  and  the  "white."  And  looking  at 
Dr.  Van  Horn's  face,  it  seemed  to  her  that  she 
still  preferred  the  red.  But  as  his  eyes  met  hers 
he  smiled  the  same  suave  smile  which  she  had  seen 
before. 

"Not  tired  of  waiting  yet,  Mrs.  Burns?"  he  said, 


72  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

as  he  passed  her.  "You  must  be  a  restful  com 
panion  for  a  man  harassed  by  many  cares. " 

She  smiled  and  nodded  her  thanks,  with  a  blithe 
word  of  parting, —  so  completely  can  her  sex  dis 
guise  their  feelings.  She  was  conscious  at  the 
moment,  without  in  the  least  being  able  to  guess 
at  the  cause  of  the  friction  between  the  two  men, 
of  an  intense  antipathy  to  Dr.  James  Van  Horn. 
And  at  the  same  moment  she  longed  to  be  able  to 
make  her  husband  look  as  cool  and  unconcerned  as 
the  other  man  was  looking,  as  he  drove  away  with 
a  backward  nod  —  which  Red  Pepper  did  not 
return! 

It  was  not  the  time  to  speak, — •  she  knew  that 
well  enough.  Besides,  though  she  was  not  the 
subject  of  his  resentment,  she  did  not  care  to  incur 
any  more  of  the  results  of  it  than  could  be  helped. 
She  let  Burns  drop  her  at  a  corner  near  the  shopping 
district  without  asking  him  to  take  her  to  the 
precise  place  she  meant  to  visit  first,  and  left  him 
without  making  any  request  that  he  return  for  her, 
—  a  courtesy  he  was  usually  eager  to  insist  upon, 
even  though  it  took  him  out  of  his  way. 

At  night,  when  he  returned,  she  met  him  with 
the  hope  that  he  would  be  able  to  spend  the  evening 
with  her, —  a  thing  which  had  not  happened  for 
a  week.  Her  arms  were  about  his  neck  as  she  put 
the  question,  and  he  looked  down  into  her  face  with 


A  RED  HEAD  73 

again  a  slight  softening  of  his  austere  expression. 
She  had  seen  at  the  first  glance  that  he  was  not 
only  still  unhappy,  he  was  suffering  profound  fatigue. 

"No,  I've  got  to  go  back  to  that  infernal  case." 
It  was  the  first  time  he  had  disclosed  even  a  hint  as 
to  what  was  the  matter. 

"The  one  where  I  stopped  with  you  this  morning?" 

"Yes.  Each  time  I  go  I  vow  I'll  not  go  again. 
To-night,  if  I  find  things  as  they  were  two  hours 
ago,  I'll  discharge  myself,  and  that  will  end  it." 

"Red,  you're  just  as  tired  and  worn  as  you  can  be. 
Come  in  to  the  big  couch,  and  let  me  make  you  com 
fortable,  until  dinner.  You'll  eat  the  better  for  it  — 
and  you  need  it." 

He  yielded,  reluctantly, —  he  who  was  always  so 
willing  to  submit  to  her  ministrations.  But  he 
threw  himself  upon  the  couch  with  a  long  sigh,  and 
let  her  arrange  the  pillows  under  his  head.  She 
sat  down  beside  him. 

"Can't  you  tell  me  something  about  it,  dear?" 
she  suggested.  "Nothing  I  ought  not  to  know,  of 
course,  but  the  thing  which  makes  you  so  miserable. 
It  can't  be  because  the  case  is  going  wrong, — 
that  wouldn't  affect  you  just  as  this  is  doing." 

"You've  seen  it,  I  suppose.  I  thought  I'd  kept 
in,  before  you."  Burns  shut  his  eyes,  his  brows 
frowning. 

She  could  have  smiled,  but  did  not.     "You  have 


74  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

—  only  of  course  I  have  seen  that  something  was 
wearing  you  —  keeping  you  on  a  tension.  You've 
not  been  quite  yourself  for  several  days. " 

"  I  am  myself.  I'm  the  real  fellow  —  only  you 
haven't  known  him  before.  The  other  is  just  — 
the  devil  disguised  in  a  goodly  garment,  one  that 
doesn't  belong  to  him. " 

"Oh,  no!" 

"No  question  of  it.  I'm  so  swearing  mad  this 
minute  I  could  kill  somebody,  —  in  other  words, 
that  foul  fiend  of  a  James  Van  Horn  —  smooth 
tongued  hypocrite  that  he  is!" 

"Has  he  injured  you?" 

"Injured  me?  Knifed  me  in  the  back,  every 
chance  he  got.  Always  has  —  but  he  never  had 
such  a  chance  as  he  has  now.  And  plays  the  part 
of  an  angel  of  light  in  that  house  —  fools  them  all. 
I'm  the  ill-tempered  incompetent,  he's  the  forbearing 
wise  man.  The  case  is  mine,  but  he's  played  the 
game  till  they  all  have  more  confidence  in  him  than 
they  have  in  me.  And  he's  got  all  the  cards  in  his 
hand!" 

He  flung  himself  off  the  couch,  and  began  to  pace 
the  room.  Speech,  once  unloosed,  flowed  freely 
enough  now, —  he  could  not  keep  it  back. 

"The  patient  is  a  man  of  prominence  —  the  matter 
of  his  recovery  is  a  great  necessity.  If  he  were  able 
to  bear  it  he  ought  to  be  operated  upon;  but  there 


A  RED  HEAD  75 

isn't  one  chance  in  a  hundred  he'd  survive  an  opera 
tion  at  present.  There's  at  least  one  chance  in 
ten  he'll  get  well  without  one.  I'm  usually  keen 
enough  to  operate,  but  for  once  I  don't  dare  risk  it. 
Van  Horn  advises  operation  —  unreservedly.  And 
the  deuce  of  it  is  that  with  every  hour  that  goes  by  he 
lets  the  family  understand  that  he  considers  the 
patient's  chances  for  relief  by  operation  are  lessening. 
He's  fixing  it  so  that  however  things  come  out  he's 
safe,  and  however  things  come  out  I'm  in  the  hole. " 

"Not  if  the  patient  gets  well. " 

"No,  but  I  tell  you  the  chance  for  that  is  mighty 
slim  —  only  one  in  ten,  at  best.  So  he  holds  the 
cards,  except  for  that  one  chance  of  mine.  And  if 
the  patient  dies  in  the  end  it's  because  I  didn't 
operate  when  he  advised  it  —  or  so  he'll  let  them 
see  he  thinks.  Not  in  so  many  words,  but  in  the 
cleverest  innuendo  of  face  and  manner;  —  that's 
what  makes  me  so  mad!  If  he'd  fight  in  the  open! 
But  not  he." 

"Would  he  have  liked  to  operate  himself?" 

Burns  laughed  —  an  ugly  laugh,  such  as  she  had 
never  before  heard  from  his  lips.  "Couldn't  have 
been  hired  to,  not  even  in  the  beginning,  when  he 
first  advocated  it.  And  I  couldn't  have  let  him, 
knowing  as  well  as  I  know  anything  in  life  that  the 
patient  would  never  have  left  the  table  alive.  Don't 
you  see  I've  had  to  fight  for  my  patient's  very  life, — 


76  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

or  rather  for  his  slim  chance  to  live, —  knowing  all 
the  while  that  I  was  probably  digging  my  own  grave. 
Easy  enough  to  let  Van  Horn  operate,  in  the  begin 
ning,  and  kill  the  patient  and  prove  himself  right, — 
if  he  would  have  done  it.  Easy  enough  to  pull  out 
of  the  case  and  let  them  have  somebody  who  would 
operate  on  Van  Horn's  advice. " 

"Is  the  patient  going  down?" 

"No,  he's  holding  his  own  fairly  well,  but  the 
disease  isn't  one  that  would  take  him  off  overnight. 
It'll  be  a  matter  of  two  or  three  days  yet,  either  way. 
How  I'm  going  to  get  through  them,  with  things 
going  as  they  are;  —  meeting  that  Judas  there  at  the 
bedside,  three  times  a  day,  and  trying  to  keep  my 
infernal  temper  from  making  me  disgrace  my 
self " 

"Red,  dear, " 

She  rose  and  came  to  him,  putting  her  hands  on 
his  shoulders  and  looking  straight  up  into  his  face. 

"That's  where  Dr.  Van  Horn  is  stronger  than 
you,  and  in  no  other  way.  He  can  control  himself. " 

"Not  inside!  Nor  outside  —  if  you  know  him. 
He's  exactly  as  mad  as  I  am,  only " 

"He  doesn't  show  it.  And  so  he  has  the  advan- 
tage." 

"Do  you  think  I  don't  know  that?  But  I'm 
right  and  he's  wrong " 

"So   you    are    the    one   who    should   keep   cool. 


A  RED  HEAD  77 

You've  heard  the  saying  of  some  wise  man  —  'If 
you  are  right  you  have  no  need  to  lose  your  temper  — 
if  you  are  wrong  you  can't  afford  to." 

Red  Pepper  laid  hold  of  the  hands  upon  his 
shoulders,  and  looked  down  into  his  wife's  eyes  with 
fires  burning  fiercely  in  his  own. 

"You  can  give  me  all  the  wise  advice  you  want  to, 
but  the  fact  remains. —  I  have  reason  to  be  angry, 
and  I  am  angry,  and  I  can't  help  it,  and  won't  help 
it!  Great  heavens,  I'm  human!" 

"Yes,  dear,  you're  human,  and  so  am  I.  You  have 
great  provocation,  and  I  think  I'm  almost  as  angry, 
in  my  small  way,  with  Dr.  Van  Horn,  as  you  are, 
now  that  I  know.  But  —  I  want  you  somehow  to 
keep  control  of  yourself.  You  are  a  gentleman,  and 
he  is  not,  but  he  is  acting  like  a  gentleman  —  hush 
—  on  the  outside,  I  mean  —  and  —  you  are  not!" 

"What!" 

"Dear,  are  you?" 

"What  do  you  know  about  it?" 

"From  the  little  I  saw  outside  the  house  this 
morning." 

He  grasped  her  arms  so  tightly  that  he  hurt  her. 
"Lord!  If  you  mean  that  I  ought  to  grin  at  him, 
as  he  does  at  me,  the  snake  in  the  grass " 

"I  don't  mean  that,  of  course.  But  I  do  think 
you  shouldn't  allow  yourself  to  look  as  if  you  wanted 
to  knock  him  down. " 


78  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

"There's  nothing  in  life  that  would  give  me 
greater  satisfaction!" 

He  relaxed  his  grasp  on  her  arms,  and  she  let 
them  drop  from  his  shoulders.  She  turned  aside, 
with  a  little  droop  of  the  head,  as  if  she  felt  it  useless 
to  argue  with  one  so  stubbornly  set  on  his  own 
destruction. 

He  looked  after  her.  "A  big  brute,  am  I  not? 
Didn't  know  me  before,  did  you?  Thought  I  was 
all  fine,  warm  heart  and  blarneying  words.  Well, 
I'm  not.  When  a  thing  like  this  gets  hold  of  me 
I'm  —  well,  I  won't  shock  your  pretty  ears  by 
putting  it  into  words. " 

He  walked  out  of  the  room,  leaving  her  standing 
looking  after  him  with  a  strange  expression  on  her 
face.  Before  she  had  moved,  however,  the  door 
burst  open  again,  and  he  was  striding  across  the 
floor  to  her,  to  seize  her  in  his  arms. 

"I  am  a.  brute,  and  I  know  it,  but  Pm  not  so  far 
gone  as  not  to  realize  I'm  wreaking  my  temper  on 
the  one  I  love  best  in  the  world.  Forget  it,  darling, 
and  don't  worry  about  me.  I've  been  through  this 
sort  of  thing  times  enough  before.  Best  not  try 
to  reform  me  —  let  me  have  my  fling.  I'm  no  Job 
nor  Moses, —  I  wasn't  built  that  way. " 

She  lifted  her  head,  and  the  action  was  full  of 
spirit.  "I  don't  want  you  a  Job  or  a  Moses,  but 
a  man!  It's  not  manly  to  act  as  you  are  acting  now." 


A  RED  HEAD  79 

He  threw  up  his  head.  "Not  manly!  That's 
a  new  one.  According  to  your  code  is  there  no  just 
anger  in  the  world?" 

"Just  anger,  but  not  sane  rage.  You  have  reason 
to  be  angry  but  there's  no  reason  in  the  world  why 
you  should  let  it  consume  you.  Red,  dear,  why  not 
—  bank  the  fires?" 

He  stared  down  into  her  upturned  face.  He  had 
thought  he  knew  her,  heart  and  soul,  but  he  found 
himself  thoroughly  astonished  by  this  new  attitude. 
He  was  so  accustomed  to  a  charming  compliance 
in  her,  he  could  hardly  realize  that  he  was  being 
brought  to  book  in  a  manner  at  once  so  felicitous 
yet  so  firm.  She  gave  him  back  his  scrutiny  without 
flinching,  and  somehow,  though  she  put  him  in  the 
wrong,  he  had  never  loved  her  better.  Here  was 
a  comrade  who  could  understand  and  influence  him! 

"Bank  the  fires,  eh?"  he  growled.  "Not  put 
them  out?  I  should  suppose  you  would  have  wanted 
them  drowned  out  in  a  flood  of  tears  of  repentance 
for  letting  them  burn." 

"No!  You  are  you,  and  the  fires  are  warming  — 
when  they  are  kept  under  control.  You're  fighting 
the  harder  for  your  patient's  life  because  the  fight's 
a  hard  one.  But  when  you  let  the  Devil  fan  the 
flame " 

He  burst  into  a  great,  unexpected  laugh  and 
caught  her  to  his  breast  again.  "That's  what  I'm 


8o  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

doing,  is  it?  That  ever  I  should  have  lived  to  hear 
you  use  a  phrase  like  that!  But  it's  a  true  one,  I 
admit  it.  I've  let  his  Satanic  Majesty  have  his  own 
way  with  me,  and  bade  him  welcome,  too.  I  may 
again,  when  I  get  away  from  you.  But  —  well  — 
I  know  you're  right.  I  —  I'll  try  to  bank  the  fires, 
little  wife.  Only  don't  expect  too  much. " 

"Red,"  said  she, —  and  it  was  not  at  all  the  sort 
of  rejoinder  he  might  have  expected  after  his  con 
cession, —  "why  is  there  no  woodpile  now  behind 
the  house?" 

"Woodpile?"  He  was  clearly  puzzled.  "Why, 
there's  plenty  of  wood  in  the  cellar,  you  know,  if  you 
want  fires.  You  can't  be  suffering  for  them,  this 
weather?" 

"No,  but  I  wish  there  were  a  woodpile  there. 
Did  you  think  you  wouldn't  need  one  any  more, 
after  you  were  married?  You  should  have  laid 
in  a  double  supply. " 

"But,  what  for?  Oh! "  Light  dawned 

upon  him.  "Somebody's  told  you  how  I  used  to 
whack  at  it. " 

"Yes,  and  I  saw  you  once  myself,  only  I  didn't 
know  what  put  the  energy  into  your  blows.  It  was 
a  splendid  safety-valve.  Red, —  send  for  a  load 
of  wood  to-day,  please!" 

"In  July!  You  hard-hearted  little  wretch!  Do 
you  want  me  reduced  to  a  pulp?" 


A  RED  HEAD  81 

She  nodded.  "Better  that  than  burning  like 
a  bonfire.  And  better  than  running  the  Imp  sixty 
miles  an  hour.  That  doesn't  help  you, —  it  merely 
helps  your  arch  enemy  fan  the  flames." 

He  laughed  again,  and  the  sound  of  his  own 
laughter  did  him  good,  according  to  the  laws  of 
Nature.  " Bless  you,  you've  put  him  to  rout  for 
the  moment  at  least,  and  that's  more  than  any  other 
human  soul  has  ever  done  for  mine,  before." 

He  kissed  her,  tenderly,  and  understanding  what 
he  did.  In  his  heart  he  adored  her  for  the  sweetness 
and  sense  which  had  kept  her  from  taking  these 
days  of  trial  as  a  personal  affront  and  finding  offence 
in  them. 

They  went  out  to  dinner,  and  Burns  found  him 
self  somehow  able  to  forget  sufficiently  to  enjoy  the 
appetizing  dishes  which  were  served  to  him,  and 
to  keep  his  brow  clear  and  his  mind  upon  the 
table  talk.  When  he  went  away,  afterward,  back 
to  the  scene  of  his  irritation  and  anxiety,  he  bore 
with  him  a  peculiar  sense  of  having  his  good  genius 
with  him,  to  help  him  tend  those  devastating  fires 
of  temperament  which  when  they  burned  too 
fiercely  could  only  hinder  him  in  the  fight  he 
waged. 

It  was  almost  daybreak  when  he  returned.  Ellen 
was  not  asleep,  although  she  did  not  expect  him  to 
come  upstairs,  if  only  for  fear  of  disturbing  her  at 


82  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

that  hour.  But  presently  the  cautious  opening  of 
her  door  caused  her  to  raise  her  head  and  lift  her 
arms.  Her  husband  came  to  her,  and  sat  down  close 
beside  her. 

"I've  discharged  myself  from  the  case,"  he  said. 
He  spoke  quietly,  but  his  voice  vibrated  with  feeling. 
"It  was  the  only  thing  to  do.  No  man  could  keep 
on  with  a  case  where  the  family  were  secretly  follow 
ing  the  consultant's  directions,  instead  of  those 
of  the  physician  in  charge.  But, —  for  your  sake, 
little  wife,  I've  done  something  I  never  would  have 
believed  I'd  do." 

She  sat  up,  her  eyes  fixed  on  the  dim  outlines  of 
his  face.  "Tell  me!"  she  urged. 

"To  begin  with,  I  had  it  out  with  them,  and  let 
them  know  I  understood  the  situation  perfectly — and 
had  understood  it  all  along.  That  I  couldn't  stay 
with  people  who  had  lost  faith  in  me.  That  if  I 
were  out  of  it  they  could  have  the  full  benefit  of 
Van  Horn's  orders,  and  the  nurses  would  be  relieved 
of  a  mighty  difficult  situation.  I  suppose  you  don't 
know  —  few  people  do  —  that  it's  a  bad  breach 
of  professional  ethics  for  a  consultant  to  conduct 
himself  so  that  he  throws  doubt  on  the  ability  of 
the  man  in  charge?  In  this  case  it  was  a  piece  of 

outrageous '3  He  caught  himself  up.  "I  can't 

get  going  on  that,  or  —  those  fires  won't  stay 
banked!" 


A  RED  HEAD  83 

She  had  his  hand  in  both  hers,  and  she  lifted  it 
to  her  lips.  He  drew  a  smothered  breath  or  two, 
and  went  on. 

"They  were  glad  enough  to  see  me  out  of  it. 
Van  Horn  was  —  also  glad !  You  see,  —  within  the 
last  few  [hours  the  patient  had  lost  ground  — 
Van's  prognosis  was  being  verified.  But,  when 
it  came  to  taking  leave  of  the  patient,  there  was 
the  dickens  to  pay.  His  pulse  jumped  and  his 
temperature  went  up,  and  there  was  trouble  for 
fair.  He  begged  me  not  to  leave  him.  From  the 
start  his  faith  has  been  pinned  tight  to  me.  The 
family  hadn't  reckoned  with  that.  They  found 
themselves  obliged  to  reckon  with  it.  They  saw 
I  must  be  kept,  or  the  game  would  be  up  in  short 
order." 

"Oh,  then  you  had  to  stay!" 

"Yes,  I  had  to  stay  —  but  —  I  couldn't!  Van 
Horn  was  in  charge,  and  the  family  wanted  him 
in  charge." 

"But  the  patient  would  die  if  you  didn't  stay. 
You  couldn't  let  professional  etiquette " 

"Couldn't  you,  though?  You've  got  to  observe 
the  rules  of  the  game,  Ellen,  or  you'll  be  in  a  worse 
mess  than  if  you  disregard  them.  After  I  had 
resigned  the  case,  unless  Van  Horn  took  himself  out 
of  it  I  could  have  no  recognized  place  in  the  house. 
He  could  have  invited  me,  in  the  emergency,  to 


84  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

share  responsibility  equally  with  himself  —  but 
would  he  do  that?  Never!  There  was  just  one 
thing  I  could  do, —  let  the  patient  think  I  was  still 
in  charge,  and  continue  to  see  him,  while  Van  Horn 
ran  things  and  so  satisfied  the  family. " 

"Oh,  Red,  they  couldn't  ask  you  to  do  that?" 

"That  was  what  they  did  ask.  I  saw  'red'  then, 
for  a  minute,  I  can  tell  you.  You  can't  understand 
just  what  a  humiliation  that  would  be, —  it's  more 
than  you  could  expect  of  any  man " 

"But  with  the  patient  needing  you " 

"I  know, —  but  it's  an  anomalous  position,  just 
the  same  —  an  unbearable  one.  Not  one  man  in  a 
thousand  would  consider  it  for  an  instant.  But 
it's  the  one  I've  accepted  —  for  you!" 

He  drew  her  into  his  arms,  and  had  his  reward. 
He  had  not  known  she  would  be  so  deeply  touched, 
and  his  heart  grew  very  warm. 

"Bless  you!"  he  murmured.  "Do  you  care  so 
much  about  seeing  those  fires  banked?  They  would 
never  burn  you!" 

"Care?  Oh,  how  I  care!  But,  Red,  you  haven't 
accepted  an  'anomalous  position.'  It's  a  clearly 
defined  one, —  the  position  of  the  man  who  is  big 
enough  to  take  second  place,  because  it  is  his 
duty.  And  I'm  so  proud  of  you  —  so  proud!  And 
prouder  yet  because  you've  controlled  that  fiery 
temper. " 


A  RED  HEAD  85 

"Don't    praise     me     yet, —  it     may    break    out 

again.     The  test  is  coming  in  the  next  forty-eight 

hours." 

"You  will  stand  it, —  I  know  you  will." 

"You  would  put  backbone  into  a  feather-bed," 

said  Red  Pepper,  with  conviction,  and  they  laughed 

and  clung  together,  in  the  early  dawn. 

Two  days  later  Burns  came  home  again  as  the 
first  light  of  the  morning  was  breaking  over  the 
summer  sky.  It  had  been  the  third  consecutive 
night  which  he  had  spent  at  the  bedside  of  the 
patient  who  would  not  let  him  go,  —  the  patient 
who,  every  time  his  weary  eyes  lifted,  during  the 
long  stretches  of  the  night,  wanted  to  rest  them 
upon  a  halo  of  coppery  red  hair  against  the  low- 
burning  light.  The  sick  man  had  learned  what  it 
meant  to  feel  now  and  then,  in  a  moment  of  torture, 
the  pressure  of  a  kind,  big  hand  upon  his,  and  to 
hear  the  sound  of  a  quiet,  reassuring  voice  —  "Steady 
—  steady  —  better  in  a  minute!" 

As  he  entered  his  office  his  eyes  were  heavy  with 
his  vigils,  but  his  heart  was  very  light.  He  looked  at 
a  certain  old  leather  chair,  into  which  he  had  often 
sunk  when  he  came  in  at  untimely  hours,  too  weary 
to  take  another  step  toward  bed.  But  now  he  passed 
it  by  and  noiselessly  crossed  the  hall  into  the  living- 
room,  where  stood  the  roomy  and  luxurious  couch 


86  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

which  Ellen  had  provided  with  special  thought  of 
hours  like  these. 

He  softly  opened  the  windows,  to  let  in  the  morn 
ing  breeze  and  the  bird-songs  of  the  early  risers 
outside,  then  threw  himself  upon  the  couch,  and 
almost  instantly  was  sound  asleep. 

Two  hours  later,  before  the  household  was  astir, 
Ellen  came  down.  She  was  in  flowing,  lacy  gar 
ments,  her  hair  in  freshly  braided  plaits  hanging  over 
her  shoulders,  her  eyes  clear  and  bright  with  the 
invigoration  of  the  night's  rest.  As  if  she  had 
known  he  would  be  there,  she  came  straight  to  her 
husband's  side,  and  stood  looking  down  at  him  with 
her  heart  in  her  eyes. 

He  looked  almost  like  a  big  boy,  lying  there  with 
one  arm  under  his  head,  the  heavy  lashes  marking 
the  line  of  the  closed  eyes,  the  face  unbent  from  the 
tenser  moulding  of  waking  hours,  the  whole  strong 
body  relaxed  into  an  attitude  of  careless  ease. 
Even  as  she  looked,  though  she  had  made  scarcely 
a  breath  of  noise,  his  eyes  unclosed.  He  was  the 
lightest  of  sleepers,  even  when  worn  out  with  work. 
He  lay  staring  up  at  her  for  a  minute  while  she  smiled 
down  at  him,  then  he  held  out  his  arms. 

"He's  passed  the  danger  point, "  he  exulted,  and  he 
took  hold  of  the  two  long  plaits  and  wound  them  about 
her  head.  Then  he  sat  up  and  began  deliberately 
to  unbraid  her  hair,  while  she  submitted  laughing. 


A  RED  HEAD  87 

"At  two  this  morning  he  had  a  bad  turn,"  said  he, 
his  fingers  having  their  way  with  the  dusky  locks. 
"The  nurse  gave  him  Van  Horn's  drugs, —  he  grew 
worse.  I  rose  up  and  took  charge."  He  laughed 
at  the  thought.  "We  had  things  doing  there  that 
would  have  made  Van's  hair  curl.  Everybody's 
hair  curled  but  mine.  Mine  stood  up  straight. 
I  waved  my  arms  like  a  semaphore.  I  said  '  Do 
this!9  and  they  did  it.  I  sent  every  one  of  Van's 
emergency  orders  to  thunder  and  tried  my  own. 
They  were  radical  —  but  they  worked.  The  patient 
pulled  out, —  he'll  live  now, —  I'll  warrant  him. 
They  got  Van  there  just  as  the  thing  was  over. 
He  and  I  looked  each  other  in  the  eye  —  and  I  won. 
Ah  —  h!  —  it  was  worth  it!  " 

He  drew  her  hair  all  over  her  face,  like  a  veil; 
then  he  gently  parted  it  and  kissed  her  happy  lips. 

"Oh,  but  I'm  the  hungry  boy,"  said  he.  "Can't 
we  have  breakfast  —  now ?" 


CHAPTER  V 

MORE  THAN    ONE    OPINION 

I  WANT  an  opinion,"  said  Burns,  one  night  at 
dinner,  "that  shall  coincide  with  mine.  Where 
do  you  suppose  I'm  going  to  find  it?" 

He  had  been  more  or  less  abstracted  during  the 
entire  dinner.  He  now  offered,  in  a  matter-of-fact 
tone,  this  explanation  of  his  abstraction  much  as 
he  might  have  observed  that  he  would  like  a  par 
tridge,  if  it  had  happened  to  be  in  season. 

"What's  a  ' 'pinion,'  Uncle  Red?"  inquired  his 
small  ward,  Bob.  Bob's  six-year-old  brain  seemed 
to  be  always  at  work  in  the  attempt  to  solve  prob 
lems. 

"It's  what  somebody  else  thinks  about  a  thing 
when  it  agrees  with  what  you  think.  When  it 
doesn't  agree  it's  a  prejudice,"  replied  Burns. 
He  forestalled  further  questioning  from  Bob  by 
refilling  his  plate  with  the  things  the  boy  liked  best, 
and  by  continuing,  himself: 

"Grayson's  idea  about  a  certain  case  of  mine  is 
prejudice  —  pure  prejudice.  Van  Horn's  is  bluster. 
Field's  is  non-committal.  Buller  would  like  to  back 

88 


MORE  THAN  ONE  OPINION  89 

me  up  —  good  old  Buller  —  but  is  honestly  con 
vinced  that  Pm  making  an  awful  mess  of  it.  I  want 
an  opinion  —  a  distinguished  opinion." 

"Why  don't  you  send  for  it?"  his  wife  asked. 
Burns  frowned.     "That's  the  trouble.     The  more 
distinguished  the  opinion  I  get  the  more  my  patient 
will  have  to  pay  for  it,  and  he  can't  afford  to  pay 

a   tin   dollar.     At  the  same  time By  George! 

There's  Leaver!  I  heard  the  other  day  that  Leaver 
was  at  a  sanitorium  not  a  hundred  miles  away, — 
there  for  a  rest.  I'll  wager  he's  there  with  a  patient 
for  a  few  days  —  at  a  good  big  price  a  day. 
Leaver  never  rests.  He's  made  of  steel  wires. 
I  believe  I'll  have  him  up  on  the  long-distance  and 
see  if  I  can't  get  him  to  run  over. " 

"  Is  it  Dr.  John  Leaver  of  Baltimore  you  speak  of?" 
"It  surely  is.     Do  you  happen  to  know  him?" 
"Slightly,    and    by    reputation  —  a    great    repu 
tation." 

"Great?  I  should  say  so.  Jack's  been  sawing 
wood  without  resting  for  ten  years.  We  were  great 
chums  in  college,  though  he  was  two  classes  ahead 
of  me.  I  was  with  him  again  for  a  winter  in  Ger 
many,  when  we  were  both  studying  there.  If  I  can 
get  him  over  here  for  a  day,  I'll  have  an  opinion 
worth  respecting,  whether  it  happens  to  agree  with 
mine  or  not.  And  if  it  doesn't,  I'll  not  call  it 
prejudice." 


9o  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

He  left  the  table  to  put  in  a  long-distance  call. 
Between  the  salad  and  the  dessert  he  was  summoned 
to  talk  with  his  friend.  Presently  he  returned, 
chuckling. 

"It  must  be  fully  ten  minutes  since  I  thought  of 
Leaver,  and  now  I  have  him  promised  for  to-morrow. 
I'll  meet  him  in  the  city,  give  him  the  history  of  the 
case  at  luncheon  at  the  Everett,  take  him  to  the 
hospital  afterward,  bring  him  out  here  to  discuss 
things,  and  give  him  one  of  your  dinners.  Then 
for  a  fine  evening  at  our  fireside.  He's  agreed  to 
stay  overnight.  I  didn't  expect  that.  He's  usually 
in  too  much  of  a  hurry  to  linger  long  anywhere. " 

"He  has  never  seemed  in  a  hurry,  when  I  have 
seen  him,"  Ellen  observed.  "He  has  such  a  quiet 
manner,  and  such  a  cool,  calm  way  of  looking  at  one, 
I  always  thought  he  must  have  a  wonderful  com 
mand  of  himself. " 

"I  always  envied  him  that,"  admitted  Red  Pep 
per,  stirring  his  coffee  with  a  thoughtful  air.  "I 
used  to  wish  it  were  contagious,  that  splendid  calm. 
He  never  loses  his  head,  as  I  do.  Takes  plenty  of 
time  to  consider  everything,  and  plenty  to  get 
ready  in.  But  when  he  does  come  to  the  point  of 
operating, —  he's  a  wonder.  Talk  about  rapidity 
and  brilliancy!  And  he  never  turns  a  hair.  I've 
often  wanted  to  count  his  pulse  at  a  crisis,  when 
he'd  found  something  unexpected  —  one  of  those 


MORE  THAN  ONE  OPINION  91 

times  that  sends  mine  racing  like  a  dynamo.  He's 
as  cool  as  a  fish  —  outwardly,  at  any  rate.  Well, 
it  will  be  jolly  to  see  him.  I  could  hardly  get  his 
voice  to  sound  natural,  over  the  'phone.  It  seemed 
weak  and  thin.  Poor  service,  I  suppose, —  though 
he  had  no  difficulty  in  hearing  me,  apparently." 

"Shall  I  put  him  in  the  small  guest-room 
or  the  large,  comfortable  one?  Which  will  appeal 
to  him  most,  space  or  a  reading-light  over  his 
bed?" 

"Put  him  in  the  big  room  and  give  him  all  the 
comforts  of  home.  I  doubt  if  he  gets  many  of  the 
really  homelike  sort,  living  alone  with  servants, 
in  the  old  family  mansion,  since  his  mother  died. 
Fve  often  wondered  why  he  hasn't  married. " 

"As  you've  only  just  married  yourself  I  should 
think  you  would  be  quite  able  to  supply  a  reason," 
suggested  Ellen,  with  a  sparkle  of  her  dark  eyes 
under  their  heavy  lashes. 

"He's  had  plenty  of  opportunities.  Many  fair 
ladies  have  made  it  easy  for  him  to  propose  to  them. 
But  he's  not  the  sort  that  kindles  into  flame  at  the 
sight  of  a  match  in  the  distance.  Yet  he's  by  no 
means  a  cold-blooded  proposition.  His  heart  is  as 
warm  as  anybody's,  under  that  reserve  of  his.  That's 
why  I  know  he'll  see  my  patient  for  the  love  of 
science  and  humanity,  and  charge  him  nothing." 

Ellen  found  herself  particularly  interested,  next 


92  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

day,  in  making  preparations  for  the  reception  of 
her  husband's  friend,  the  first  bachelor  who  should 
spend  a  night  in  the  house.  It  was  a  fortnight  since 
Red  Pepper  had  insisted  upon  having  the  telephones 
extended  to  the  upstairs  rooms,  and  during  that 
period  two  more  rooms  had  been  furnished  and  put 
in  readiness  for  the  guests  whom  it  was  a  part 
of  Mrs.  Burns's  hospitable  creed  to  expect.  The 
larger  of  these  was  a  charming  apartment,  in  blue 
and  white,  and  possessed  a  small  fireplace,  in  front 
of  which  stood  a  low  couch,  luxurious  with  many 
pillows. 

"It's  rather  a  feminine  looking  room  for  so 
manly  a  man  as  Dr.  Leaver, "  Ellen  reflected,  as  she 
looked  in  at  it,  an  hour  before  his  arrival,  "but  per 
haps  he's  not  above  enjoying  little  softnesses  of  com 
fort.  I  believe  I'll  have  a  small  fire  for  him,  June 
though  it  is.  It's  a  cold  June,  and  it  looks  like  rain. 
It  is  raining."  She  crossed  to  the  window  and 
looked  out.  "Why,  it's  pouring!  What  a  pity! 
We  shall  have  to  stay  indoors." 

As  she  stood  contemplating  the  downpour,  it 
quite  suddenly  increased,  and  in  the  course  of  a 
minute  or  two  became  a  deluge.  In  the  midst  of  it 
she  discovered  a  white-clad  figure  running  across 
the  lawn,  and  recognized  Miss  Mathewson,  evi- 
denently  caught  in  the  shower  as  she  was  returning 
to  Burns's  office. 


MORE  THAN  ONE  OPINION  93 

"She  must  be  soaked  through  and  through," 
thought  Ellen,  and  ran  downstairs  to  meet  her, 
herself  clad  in  dinner  dress  of  the  pale  lilac  which 
suited  her  so  well,  and  for  which  her  husband  had 
conceived  a  special  fondness. 

"Oh,  don't  come  near  me,  please,  Mrs.  Burns," 
expostulated  Miss  Mathewson,  as  she  stood,  drip 
ping,  on  the  porch  outside  the  office,  while  Ellen,  in 
the  open  door,  motioned  her  within.  "I'll  just 
stay  here  until  the  worst  is  over,  and  then  run 
home  and  change." 

"Indeed  you'll  come  in.  Nothing  can  hurt  this 
floor,  and  it's  turned  ever  so  cold,  as  I  can  feel. 
It  may  rain  for  an  hour.  I'll  give  you  everything 
you  need,  and  be  delighted. " 

There  was  no  resisting  Red  Pepper's  wife;  she 
was  accustomed  to  have  her  way.  Miss  Mathewson, 
reluctant  but  shivering,  came  inside,  and  when  her 
clothing  had  ceased  to  drip  moisture,  followed  Ellen 
upstairs.  Presently,  dry-clad,  she  was  taken  into 
Ellen's  own  room  and  confronted  with  an  invitation 
which  was  rather  a  command. 

"You're  to  stay  and  have  dinner  with  us.  I've 
laid  out  a  frock  which  I'm  confident  will  fit  you. 
Please  don't  say  no.  It's  a  special  providence,  for 
I've  been  wishing  all  the  afternoon  I  had  asked 
somebody  to  make  a  fourth  at  our  table,  to  meet 
Dr.  Leaver.  And  now  I  shall  have  the  pleasure 


94  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

of  dressing  you  for  the  occasion,  since  you  can't 
possibly  go  home  through  this,  and  wouldn't  have 
time  to  dress  and  come  back,  if  you  could. " 

"But,  Mrs.  Burns, "Amy  Mathewson  began, 

flushing  after  a  fashion  she  had  which  made  her 
for  the  moment  almost  pretty  and  certainly  attrac 
tive,  "there's  no  real  reason  why  you  need  me,  and 
I " 

"I  do  need  you.  Three  is  such  a  stupid  number. 
You  will  enjoy  Dr.  Leaver  and  he  will  enjoy  you. 
Come,  my  dear  girl,  don't  spend  any  more  time 
remonstrating,  but  do  your  hair  and  put  on  this 
simple  frock,  which  I'm  confident  will  just  suit  you. 
You're  a  bit  taller,  I  know,  but  the  dress  is  long 
for  me,  and  will  be  quite  the  right  length  for  you. 
Sit  down  here  at  my  dressing-table,  and  let  me  help 
you  dry  that  beautiful  hair.  I've  often  longed  to 
see  it  all  unconfined,  and  now  I'm  going  to  have  the 
chance." 

As  she  spoke  she  slipped  on  a  loose  protecting 
garment  above  her  lilac  daintiness,  and  waved  an 
inviting  hand  to  her  guest,  smiling  so  coaxingly  that 
Miss  Mathewson  yielded  without  another  word  of 
protest.  When  the  hairpins  came  out,  and  the  mass 
of  fair  hair  fell  upon  the  shoulders,  Ellen  exclaimed 
with  hearty  admiration: 

"I  knew  it  was  wonderful  hair,  but  I  didn't  dream 
there  was  such  a  wealth.  My  dear,  why  do  you 


MORE  THAN  ONE  OPINION  95 

wear  it  in  such  a  tight  fashion,  as  if  you  wanted 
everybody  to  think  there  wasn't  much  of  it?  Do 
let  me  try  dressing  it  for  you  in  a  way  I  know,  which 
it  seems  to  me  would  just  suit  your  face.  Have 
you  always  worn  it  coiled  on  top  of  your  head,  and 
shall  you  feel  very  strange  and  uncomfortable  if 
I  arrange  it  lower?" 

"Do  it  as  you  like,  Mrs.  Burns,  since  you  will  be 
so  kind.  But  don't  expect  me  not  to  feel  strange, 
wearing  your  clothes  and  staying  to  dinner.  Do 
you  realize  how  far  from  society  I've  lived,  all  these 
years  that  I've  been  nursing  for  Dr.  Burns?" 

"I  know  you  are  a  lady,  and  that  is  quite  enough. 
And  our  simple  dinner  isn't  *  society, '  it's  home. 
Now,  please  keep  quite  still,  and  don't  distract 
my  mind,  while  I  lay  these  smooth  strands  in 
place.  I  want  every  one  to  lie  in  just  this  shining 
order." 

Ellen  worked  at  her  self-appointed  task  with  all 
the  interest  of  the  born  artist,  who  has  an  ever- 
present  dream  of  things  as  they  ought  to  look. 
When  the  last  confining  pin  was  in  place  she  viewed 
the  fair  head  before  her  from  every  point,  then 
clapped  her  hands  delightedly,  and  presented  Miss 
Mathewson  with  a  hand-mirror. 

"You  must  get  the  side  view,  then  you'll  recognize 
how  these  new  lines  bring  out  that  distinguished 
profile  that's  been  obscured  all  this  time.  Do  you 


96  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

see?  Do  you  know  yourself,  my  dear?  Won't  you 
always  wear  it  this  way,  to  please  me?" 

"But  I  never  could  do  it  myself,  in  the  world," 
pleaded  Amy  Mathewson,  her  cheeks  again  flooding 
with  colour  at  the  strange  sight  of  herself. 

"It's  perfectly  simple,  and  I'll  teach  you  with 
pleasure, —  only  not  now,  for  we  must  hurry.  I'll 
slip  the  frock  over  your  head  without  disturbing  a 
hair,  and  then  we'll  go  down,  for  I  want  a  bit  of  a 
blaze  on  the  hearth  in  the  living-room,  to  offset  this 
dull-gray  sky. " 

On  went  the  frock  in  question,  a  " simple"  one, 
undoubtedly,  but  of  the  sort  of  simplicity  which  tells 
its  own  story  to  the  initiated.  Whether  its  new 
wearer  recognized  or  not  its  perfection  of  detail, 
she  could  but  see  that  it  suited  her  to  a  nicety, 
both  in  hue  —  a  soft  apricot  shade  —  and  in  its 
absence  of  elaboration.  Its  effect  was  to  soften 
every  line  of  the  face  above  it,  and  to  set  off  its 
wearer's  delicate  colouring  as  the  white  uniforms 
could  never  do. 

"Don't  you  quite  dare  to  look  at  her?"  questioned 
the  self-appointed  lady's  maid,  merrily,  as  she  led 
her  charge  to  stand  in  front  of  a  long  mirror,  set 
in  a  door. 

"Hardly."  Miss  Mathewson  raised  eyes  grown 
suddenly  shy  to  view  her  own  image  in  the  glass, 
which  gave  her  back  a  picture  such  as  she  had  never 


MORE  THAN  ONE  OPINION  97 

dreamed  could  be  made  by  herself,  under  any  condi 
tions  whatever.  Over  her  shoulder  her  employer's 
wife  smiled  at  her. 

"She  looks  very  charming,  to  me,  however  she 
looks  to  you.  But  I  won't  force  her  to  stare  long 
at  such  a  stranger.  It  might  make  it  difficult  for 
her  to  forget  the  stranger  afterward,  which  is 
what  I  want  her  to  do. " 

Ellen  ran  away  to  make  herself  ready  once  more, 
and  returning  put  her  arm  about  her  guest's  waist, 
in  the  friendly  way  of  her  own  which  came  still  more 
naturally  now  that  the  uniform  was  gone.  Together 
the  two  descended  the  stairs  to  the  living-room, 
there  to  await  the  arrival  of  Burns  and  his  friend. 

This  took  place  about  three  quarters  of  an  hour 
after  it  was  to  be  expected,  as  Red  Pepper's  arrivals 
usually  did,  whether  accompanied  or  not  by  invited 
guests.  The  two  came  in  laughing  together  over 
some  reminiscence,  and  Ellen  recognized  the  tall, 
distinguished  figure  she  well  remembered,  with  the 
clean-cut  features,  the  fine  eyes  rather  deep  set  under 
heavy  brows,  the  firm  yet  sensitive  mouth.  Yet,  after 
a  moment,  as  Dr.  John  Leaver  stood  talking  with  her, 
she  observed  a  careworn  look,  a  dimming  of  the  fresh, 
clear  colour  she  had  noted  on  former  meetings;  alto 
gether  in  his  whole  aspect  she  found  more  than  a  sug 
gestion  of  undue  fatigue,  and  when  the  smile  ceased 
to  light  his  face,  even  of  sadness  quite  unwonted. 


98  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

While  he  was  in  his  room  before  dinner,  she  held 
a  hasty  consultation  with  her  husband,  as  he  dressed 
with  the  speed  of  which  he  was  master  through 
long  practice. 

"Dr.  Leaver  can't  be  quite  well,  Red, —  to  look 
like  that?" 

"  I  should  say  not.  I  haven't  asked  him  a  question 
and  he  hasn't  said  a  word,  but  it  shows  all  over  him. 
He's  'not  my  old  friend  Jack  Leaver,  at  all,  and 
it  upsets  me.  I'm  hoping  he'll  unload,  and  tell 
me  what's  wrong,  though  I  can  guess  fairly  well 
for  myself.  I  could  see,  all  through  our  consultation, 
that  he  held  himself  in  hand  with  an  effort.  The  old 
keenness  was  there,  but  not  the  old  command.  He's 
worn  out,  for  one  thing, — •  though  there  may  be  more 
than  that.  But,  see  here, —  do  you  mean  to  tell 
me  that's  Amy  Mathewson  you've  got  downstairs? 
Never!  It  might  be  her  younger  sister —  six  years 
younger  —  but  not  my  staid  nurse.  Not  even  you 
could  bring  about  such  a  miracle. " 

"Isn't  it  wonderful?  Yet  —  it  isn't,  at  all. 
She's  always  worn  her  hair  strained  back  from  her 
face  and  put  up  into  that  tight  coil  on  the  top  of  her 
head.  Dressing  it  properly  has  made  two  thirds 
of  the  difference  and  the  apricot  frock  makes  the 
other  third.  Isn't  it  delightful  ?  " 

"No  doubt  of  that.  She's  a  mighty  good  girl, 
and  if  she  can  make  shift  to  be  a  good-looking  one 


MORE  THAN  ONE  OPINION  99 

as  well,  there  may  be  a  bit  of  fun  left  in  life  for  her 
yet.  She's  by  no  means  old,  and  you've  made  her 
young, —  bless  your  generous  heart!  I  don't  know 
how  you  ever  managed  to  get  her  consent,  though. 
She  thinks  that  uniform  is  her  shell,  and  can't  be 
doffed.  But  I  don't  think  she's  likely  to  get  much 
fun  out  of  Leaver  to-night.  He's  just  about  fit  for 
bed,  or  I'm  no  diagnostician. 

"Then  let's  put  him  there,"  said  Ellen,  promptly. 

"Oh,  I  don't  mean  that  literally.  One  of  your 
dinners  ought  to  set  him  up,  and  Amy  Mathewson 
won't  make  any  exacting  demands  on  his  brilliancy." 

"Won't  she?  You  can't  tell  what  pretty  clothes 
may  do  for  her.  She  will  surprise  you  some  time, 
in  spite  of  the  fact  that  you  know  her  so  well. " 

"Wise  woman.  She  will,  if  you  have  a  hand  in 
the  game.  You  can  be  trusted  to  bring  out  every 
one's  best.  Bother  this  tie  —  it  acts  like  original 


sin.' 


"I  won't  offer  to  tie  it  for  you.  I  can't  imagine 
Redfield  Pepper  Burns  allowing  his  wife  to  tie  his 
cravat  for  him. " 

"Can't  you?  That  is  to  say,  won't  you?"  He 
came  close. 

She  shook  her  head,  and  moved  away,  smiling. 
"It  would  destroy  a  certain  ideal.  Stop  laughing! 
One  of  your  most  powerful  charms  for  me  is  your 
independence." 


ioo  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

He  groaned  and  continued  to  struggle  with  the 
bow  of  black  silk  which  eluded  his  efforts  to  fasten 
it  securely.  "I  thought  all  women  delighted  in 
getting  their  husband's  neckwear  adjusted  according 
to  their  own  notions.  Another  dream  shattered!  — 
Well,  here  goes  for  the  last  time.  If  I  can't  get 
it  right  now  I'll  go  in  and  implore  Jack  to  do  it  for 
me.  It  will  open  his  eyes  as  to  how  far  hopes  may 
be  slain  by  realities.  There!  That's  a  pretty 
good  result,  at  last.  I'll  go  across  now,  and  see  if 
he  wants  any  of  my  assistance. " 

Ten  minutes  later  both  men  appeared  in  the 
living-room.  In  his  evening  attire  Dr.  Leaver  looked 
a  tall  and  sombre  figure,  and  the  contrast  between  him 
and  his  friend,  as  Red  Pepper  stood  beside  him  on  the 
hearth-rug,  the  picture  of  ruddy  health,  was  startling. 

"You  must  be  pretty  heavy,  Red,"  Leaver  said, 
considering  his  host.  "Not  a  particle  of  superfluous 
fat,  but  good,  solid  structure,  I  should  say.  One 
wouldn't  want  to  try  to  pass  you  against  your  will, 
in  a  narrow  alley,  on  a  dark  night. " 

"It  strikes  me  you  could  glide  by  me  in  the 
shadow  and  never  attract  my  attention,"  Burns 
replied,  his  keen  eyes  on  his  friend's  face.  "The 
difference  between  us  is  that  every  inch  of  you 
represents  concentrated  energy,  while  my  plant 
spreads  all  over  the  landscape  without  producing 
half  as  much  power. " 


MORE  THAN  ONE  OPINION  101 

Leaver  smiled.  There  was  both,  strength  and 
sweetness  in  his  smile,  but  there  wa*  depression  in  it 
also.  "That  sounds  like  you,"  he  »sa id.;  ;'<•!- sup 
pose  many  men  envy  other  men'"  the  possession 'of 
some  supposed  source  of  efficiency.  Just  now  I 
find  myself  envying  you  your  home  —  and  its 
occupants.  What  a  delightful  room." 

He  turned  to  his  hostess  and  her  friend.  While 
they  talked  together  Burns  regarded  Amy  Mathew- 
son,  his  long-time  associate,  with  renewed  wonder, 
and  presently  found  himself  addressing  her  from 
an  entirely  new  point  of  view.  This  fair  girl  with 
the  graceful  head  and  the  glowing  blue  eyes  could 
not  possibly  be  the  sedate  young  woman  who  was 
accustomed  to  hand  him  instruments  and  sutures, 
ligate  arteries,  and  attend  to  various  minor  matters 
from  the  other  side  of  his  operating-table.  He 
wondered  why  he  had  never  before  noticed  how  much 
real  individuality  she  possessed,  nor  how  really  at 
tractive  she  was  of  face  and  person.  He  decided 
afresh  that  his  wife  was  the  most  wonderful  woman 
in  the  world,  to  be  able  to  see  at  a  glance  that 
which  had  escaped  his  attention  for  so  long,  and  he 
congratulated  Miss  Mathewson,  in  his  mind,  on  the 
possibilities  he  for  the  first  time  saw  ahead  of  her. 
Clearly  after  all  she  was  a  woman,  not  a  machine! 

The  party  went  out  to  dinner,  and  Burns  looked 
to  see  his  friend  enjoy,  as  he  thought  he  must,  the 


102  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

cleverly  planned  and  deliciously  cooked  meal  which 
came,  .perfectly  served,  upon  the  table.  It  was 
si? ch:  a  dinner  as  he  himself  delighted  in,  unostenta 
tious  but  satisfying,  with  certain  touches,  here  and 
there,  calculated  to  tempt  the  most  capricious 
palate, —  such  as  he  shrewdly  judged  Leaver,  in  his 
presumably  lowered  state  of  vitality,  to  possess. 

But  to  his  surprise  and  dismay  the  guest  barely 
touched  most  of  the  dishes,  and  ate  so  sparingly  of 
others  that  Burns  felt  himself,  with  his  hearty, 
normal  appetite,  a  gormandizer.  Nobody  made 
any  comment  whatever  upon  Dr.  Leaver's  lack  of 
appetite,  but  all  three  noted,  with  growing  concern, 
that  there  were  moments  when  he  seemed  to  keep 
up  with  an  effort.  Instinctively  the  others  made 
short  work  of  the  later  courses,  and  felt  a  decided 
relief  when  it  became  possible  to  leave  the  table  and 
return  to  the  living-room. 

By  a  bit  of  clever  management  Ellen  was  able 
to  put  the  guest's  tall  form  into  a  corner  of  the  big 
davenport,  among  the  blue  pillows,  where  he  could 
receive  more  support  than  was  possible  in  any  other 
place.  After  a  little  he  seemed  less  fatigued,  and 
charmed  them  all  with  his  pleasant  discourse. 
Burns  himself  was  soon  summoned  to  the  office. 
He  would  not  allow  Miss  Mathewson  to  take  up 
her  duties  there,  though  she  followed  him  to  offer 
eagerly  to  run  home  and  change  her  attire. 


MORE  THAN  ONE  OPINION  103 

"Not  a  bit  of  it,"  Burns  assured  her,  in  the  hall. 
He  regarded  her  with  mischief  in  his  eyes.  "Cin 
derella  isn't  due  at  home  till  the  clock  strikes  twelve," 
he  whispered.  "Besides, —  the  Prince  isn't  in  his 
usual  form  to-night.  He  may  need  her  services  as 
nurse  at  any  minute,  judging  by  his  appearance." 

That  sent  her  back  into  the  room,  as  he  knew  it 
would.  It  was,  for  her,  a  wonderfully  interesting 
hour  which  followed,  for  Dr.  Leaver  and  Mrs.  Burns 
fell  to  discussing  life  in  a  certain  great  city,  as  both 
knew  it  from  quite  different  standpoints,  and  she 
herself  had  only  to  listen  and  observe.  She  thought 
the  pair  upon  the  davenport  made  a  striking  picture, 
the  woman  in  her  rich  and  still  youthful  beauty, 
her  smile  a  thing  to  wonder  at,  her  voice  low  music 
to  the  ear;  the  man,  though  no  older  than  Burns, 
worn  and  grave,  yet  with  a  strangely  winning  person 
ality,  and  eyes  which  seemed  to  see  far  beneath  the 
surface.  In  all  Amy  Mathewson's  experience  with 
the  men  of  Burns's  profession,  she  had  never  met 
just  such  a  one  as  John  Leaver.  The  sense  of  his 
personal  worth  and  dignity  was  strong  upon  her  as 
she  watched  him;  his  evident  fatigue  and  weakness 
appealed  to  her  sympathies;  and  she  forgot  herself 
more  completely  than  she  had  imagined  she  could 
when  first  summoned  to  the  unaccustomed  part  she 
was  this  evening  playing. 

But,  quite  suddenly,  the  scene  changed.     In  the 


104  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

act  of  speaking  Dr.  Leaver  suddenly  stopped,  put 
one  hand  to  his  side,  and  lay  back  against  the  high 
end  of  the  davenport,  breathing  short,  his  face 
turning  pallid,  ashen.  Ellen  rose  to  her  feet  in 
dismay,  but  Amy  Mathewson  sprang  toward  him, 
drew  him  with  strong  arms  gently  down  to  a  position 
more  nearly  recumbent,  and  with  fingers  on  his 
pulse  said  in  a  low  voice,  "Call  the  Doctor,  please." 

Ellen  ran,  and  in  a  minute  had  Burns  there, 
striding  in,  in  his  white  office  jacket,  his  face  tense 
with  sudden  anxiety.  Leaver  was  panting  for 
breath  as  Burns  felt  his  pulse  and  nodded  at  Amy, 
who  hurried  quietly  away.  She  was  back  very 
quickly,  handing  Burns  a  tiny  instrument  ready  for 
use.  In  a  moment  more  the  supporting  drug  was 
on  its  way  to  lend  aid,  and  Burns  was  bending  over 
his  friend  again,  laying  a  gentle  hand  upon  the  damp 
forehead,  and  saying  with  quiet  assurance: 

"All  right,  old  boy.  We'll  have  you  comfortable 
in  no  time.  You  were  too  tired  to  play  society  man 
to-night,  and  we  oughtn't  to  have  allowed  it. " 

It  was  not  very  long  before  Leaver  was  breathing 
more  easily,  and  a  trace  of  colour  had  come  back 
to  his  face.  He  moved  his  head  and  tried  to  speak 
naturally: 

"I  am  —  rather  —  ashamed  of  myself " 

"You've  no  business  to  be.  When  a  fellow  is 
played  out  Nature  takes  her  innings  —  and  she 


MORE  THAN  ONE  OPINION  105 

takes  all  that's  coming  to  her.  You're  going  up 
to  bed  in  a  few  minutes,  and  you're  going  to  stay 
there  till  the  rest  has  had  a  chance  to  get  in  some 
work.  Miss  Mathewson  will  stay  with  you  for  a  bit. 
She's  a  famous  nurse." 

Leaver's  head  moved  in  surprised  protest,  and 
Miss  Mathewson  spoke: 

"He  doesn't  know,  Dr.  Burns,  that  that  is 
my  profession." 

Burns  laughed.  "Oh,  I  see.  That  was  a  bit 
startling,  for  a  fact.  But  she  is,  Leaver,  the  most 
accomplished  of  her  guild,  and  my  right-hand  man. 
She  can  make  you  more  comfortable  in  an  hour  than 
I  can  in  a  week. " 

Upstairs,  while  she  released  Amy  from  the  apricot 
frock,  that  something  more  in  keeping  with  the 
duties  of  a  nurse  might  be  donned,  Ellen  questioned 
anxiously: 

"The  Doctor  must  think  him  really  ill,  to  speak 
of  keeping  him  in  bed.  Do  you  know  what  is  the 
matter?" 

"His  heart  action  is  weak.  I  don't  know  the 
cause,  of  course.  He  seems  worn  out;  that  showed 
plainly  all  the  evening.  I'm  going  to  run  home, 
Mrs.  Burns;  my  wet  things  must  be  quite  dry,  now. 
There'll  be  time,  I'm  sure.  The  Doctor  won't 
bring  him  upstairs  for  a  little  yet." 

She  hurried  away,  and  was  back  within  the  half 


io6  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

hour.  Although  she  no  longer  looked  the  part  of 
the  fine  lady,  the  old  role  seemed  hardly  hers.  The 
new  fashion  of  her  hair  had  changed  her  appearance 
very  completely,  and  the  youthful  look  it  had 
restored  to  her  remained,  to  Ellen's  no  little  pleasure. 
Her  cheeks  were  still  flushed  with  the  evening's 
excitement,  and  her  eyes  were  charmingly  bright 
and  happy. 

When  everything  was  in  readiness,  Burns,  in  spite 
of  all  remonstrance  from  his  friend,  lifted  him  in  his 
powerful  arms  and  carried  him  upstairs.  The 
exertion  made  him  breathe  a  little  heavily  for  a 
moment,  but  that  was  all.  Leaver  was  not  a 
light  burden,  in  spite  of  his  thinness,  for  his  frame 
was  that  of  a  man  who  should  carry  many  pounds 
more  than  he  now  bore. 

"You  strong  man,  how  I  envy  you,"  Leaver 
said,  sadly,  as  Burns  laid  him  upon  the  bed. 

"Your  envy  of  me  can't  be  a  circumstance  to 
that  I've  felt,  many  a  time,  when  I've  watched  you. 
But  you've  been  working  like  a  slave  too  long. 
Rest  is  all  you  need,  man. " 

But  Leaver  slowly  shook  his  head.  He  did  not 
reply  to  this  confident  statement,  and  Burns  knew 
better  than  to  try  to  argue  it  out  with  him  just  then. 
Instead,  with  a  warm  grip  of  the  hand,  he  turned 
his  new  case  over  to  the  care  of  his  nurse,  and  went 
away,  his  heart  heavy  at  sight  of  a  strong  man  prone. 


CHAPTER  VI 

BROKEN    STEEL   WIRES 

I  can't  stay  here,"  John  Leaver  protested, 
a  few  days  afterward.  He  was  still  in  bed, 
much  against  his  will,  but  not,  as  he  was  forced 
to  admit,  against  his  judgment,  when  he  allowed 
it  consideration.  "I  can't  impose  on  Mrs.  Burns's 
and  your  kindness  like  this.  I  shall  soon  be  fit 
for  travel,  and  then " 

"Would  you  mind  listening  to  me?"  R.  P. 
Burns,  M.  D.,  sat  comfortably  back  in  a  large  willow 
chair,  by  the  bedside,  and  crossed  one  leg  over  the 
other  in  a  fashion  indicative  of  an  intention  to  settle 
down  to  it  and  have  it  out.  "Just  let  me  state 
the  case  to  you,  and  try  to  look  at  it  from  the 
outside.  Of  course  that's  a  difficult  thing  to  do, 
when  it  happens  to  be  your  own  case,  but  you  have 
a  judicial  mind,  and  you  can  do  the  trick,  if  any 
body  can." 

Leaver  was  silent.  He  lay  staring  out  of  the  open 
window  beside  which  his  bed  had  been  drawn,  his 
thin  cheek  showing  gaunt  hollows,  his  eyes  heavy 
with  unrest.  All  the  scents  and  sounds  of  June 

107 


io8  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

were  pouring  in  at  the  three  windows  of  the  room; 
a  tangle  of  rose  vines  looked  in  at  him  from  this 
nearest  one.  Just  before  Amy  Mathewson  had  left 
him,  a  few  minutes  ago,  for  her  afternoon  rest,  she 
had  brought  him  one  wonderful  bloom,  the  queen,  it 
seemed,  of  all  the  roses  of  that  June.  It  lay  upon 
the  window-sill,  now,  within  reach  of  his  hand. 

Burns  began  to  speak.  His  tone  was  matter-of- 
fact,  yet  it  held  inflections  of  tenderness.  His 
friend's  case  appealed  to  him  powerfully;  his  sym 
pathy  with  Leaver's  state  of  mind,  as  he  was  con 
fident  he  understood  it,  was  intense.  "If  it  were 
I!"  he  had  said  to  himself  —  and  to  Ellen  —  and 
had  groaned  in  spirit  at  the  thought.  If  it  had 
been  his  own  case,  it  seemed  to  him  he  could  not 
have  endured  it. 

"You  were  at  that  sanitorium,"  Burns  began. 
"Sanitoriums  are  useful  institutions,  some  of  them 
get  splendid  results.  But  they  have  their  disad 
vantages.  It's  pretty  difficult  to  eliminate  the  atmos 
phere  of  illness.  And,  for  a  man  whose  training 
and  instincts  lead  him  to  see  behind  every  face  he 
meets  in  such  a  place,  it's  not  an  ideal  spot  at  all. 
What  you  need  is  a  home,  and  that's  what  we're 
offering  you,  for  as  long  as  you  need  it." 

"And  I  appreciate  it  more  than  any  words  can 
express,"  Leaver  said  gratefully.  He  turned  his 
head  now,  and  looked  at  his  host.  "Just  to  know 


BROKEN  STEEL  WIRES  109 

that  I  have  such  friends  does  me  good.  And  I 
know  that  you  mean  all  you  say.  If  I  were  a  subject 
for  a  cure  I  might  almost  be  tempted  to  take  you 
at  your  word." 

"You  are  a  subject  for  a  cure." 

Leaver  shook  his  head,  turning  it  away  again. 
"Only  to  a  certain  point/'  he  said,  quietly.  "Of 
course  I  know  that  rest  and  quiet  will  put  my  heart 
right,  because  there's  no  organic  lesion.  Probably 
I  shall  build  up  and  get  the  better  of  my  depression 
of  mind  —  to  a  certain  extent.  But,  there's  one 
thing  I'm  facing  I  haven't  owned  to  you.  You 
may  as  well  know  it.  I  shall  never  be  able  to  operate 
again.  .  .  .  Perhaps  you  can  guess  what  that 
means  to  me,"  he  added.  His  voice  was  even,  but 
his  breathing  was  slightly  quickened. 

Burns  was  silent  for  a  time,  his  own  heart  heavy 
with  sympathy  for  Leaver.  Guess  what  a  con 
viction  like  that  must  mean  to  a  man  of  Leaver's 
early  eminence  in  the  world  of  distinguished  operative 
surgery?  He  surely  could.  It  had  been  his  almost 
certain  knowledge  that  this  was  his  friend's  real 
trouble  which  had  made  him  say  to  himself  with  a 
groan,  "If  it  were  I!"  So  he  did  not  answer  hastily 
to  persist  in  assurance  that  all  would  yet  be  well.  He 
knew  Leaver  understood  that  sort  of  professional 
hypnosis  too  thoroughly  to  be  affected  by  it. 

Burns  got  up  and  took  a  turn  or  two  up  and  down 


no  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

the  room,  thinking  things  out.  His  face  was  graver 
than  patients  usually  saw  it;  there  was  in  it,  how 
ever,  a  look  of  determination  which  grew,  moment 
by  moment,  as  he  walked.  Presently  he  came  back 
to  the  bedside  and  sat  down  again. 

"Suppose  you  tell  me  all  about  it,  Jack,"  said  he. 
"You  haven't  done  me  that  honour,  yet,  you  know. 
Will  it  be  too  hard  on  you?  Just  to  make  a  clean 
breast  of  every  thought  and  every  experience  which 
has  led  you  to  this  point?  I  know  I'm  rather 
forcing  myself  upon  you  as  your  physician.  If  you 
prefer,  I'll  withdraw  from  the  case,  in  favour  of 
any  better  man  you  may  choose,  and  send  for  him 
to-day." 

Leaver's  head  turned  back  again.  "I  know  no 
better  man,"  he  said,  and  their  eyes  met. 

"There  are  plenty  of  better  men,"  Burns  went  on, 
"but  I  confess  I  want  this  case,  and  am  ready  to 
take  advantage  of  having  it  in  my  house,  for  the 
present,  at  least.  Well,  then, —  if  you  can  trust 
me,  why  not  do  as  I  suggest?" 

Leaver  shivered  a  little,  in  the  warm  June  light, 
and  put  one  hand  for  a  moment  over  his  eyes. 

"You  don't  know  what  you  ask,  Red,"  he  said, 
slowly. 

"Don't  I?  Perhaps  not.  Yet  —  I  have  a  notion 
that  I  do.  It  would  be  a  trifle  easier  to  face  the 
rack  and  thumbscrew,  eh?  Well,  let's  get  it  over. 


BROKEN  STEEL  WIRES  in 

Possibly  telling  will  ease  you  a  bit,  after  all.  It 
works  that  way  sometimes." 

By  and  by,  persisting,  gently  questioning,  helping 
by  his  quick  understanding  of  a  situation  almost 
before  Leaver  had  unwillingly  pictured  it,  he  had 
the  whole  story.  It  was  almost  precisely  the  story 
he  had  guessed, —  an  old  story,  repeated  by  many 
such  sufferers  from  overwork  and  heavy  responsi 
bility,  but  new  to  each  in  its  entirety  of  torture, 
even  to  this  man,  who,  still  in  his  youthful  prime, 
had  himself  heard  many  such  a  tale  from  the  unhappy 
lips  of  his  patients,  yet  to  whom  his  own  case  seemed 
unique  in  its  suffering  and  hopelessness. 

The  recital  culminated  in  an  incident  so  painful 
to  the  subject  of  it  that  he  could  recount  it  only  in 
the  barest  outlines.  His  listener,  however,  by  the 
power  of  his  experience  and  his  sympathy,  could 
fill  in  every  detail.  A  day  had  come,  some  six  weeks 
before,  when  Leaver,  though  thoroughly  worn  out 
by  severe  and  long  continued  strain,  had  attempted 
to  operate.  The  case  was  an  important  one,  the 
issue  doubtful.  Friends  of  the  patient  had  insisted 
that  no  one  else  should  take  the  eminent  young 
surgeon's  place,  and,  although  he  had  had  more 
than  one  inner  warning,  in  recent  operations,  that 
his  nerve  was  not  what  it  had  been,  his  pride  had 
bid  him  see  the  thing  through.  He  had  given  himself 
an  energizing  hypodermic, —  he  had  never  done  that 


ii2  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

before, —  and  had  gone  into  it.  There  had  come  a 
terrible  moment.  .  .  .  Leaver's  lips  grew  white 
as  he  tried  to  tell  it. 

He  felt  his  friend's  warm,  firm  hand  upon  his  own 
as  he  faltered.  "Steady,  old  fellow,"  said  Burns's 
quiet  voice.  "We've  got  this  nearly  over.  You'll 
be  better  afterward." 

After  a  little  Leaver  went  on. 

He  had  come  upon  an  unexpected  complication  — 
one  undreamed  of  by  himself  or  the  consulting  sur 
geons.  "You  know "  said  Leaver.  Burns 

nodded,  emphatically.  "You  bet  I  know,"  said 
he,  and  his  hand  came  again  upon  Leaver's,  and 
stayed  there.  Leaver  went  on  again,  slowly. 

Instant  decision  had  been  necessary,  instant  action. 
It  was  such  a  moment  as  he  had  faced  hundreds  of 
times  before,  and  his  quick  wit,  his  surgeon's  power 
of  resource,  his  iron  nerve,  had  always  come  to 
the  support  of  his  skill,  and  together  these  attri 
butes  had  won  the  day  for  him.  Fear,  at  such  crises, 
had  never  possessed  him,  however  much,  afterward, 
reviewing  the  experience,  he  had  wondered  that  it 
had  not.  But  this  time,  fear  —  fear  —  a  throttling, 
life-destroying  fear  had  sprung  upon  him  and  gripped 
him  by  the  throat.  Standing  there,  entirely  him 
self,  except  for  that  horrible  consciousness  that  he 
could  not  proceed,  he  had  had  to  beckon  to  the 
most  experienced  of  the  surgeons  present  who  sur- 


BROKEN  STEEL  WIRES  113 

rounded  him  as  onlookers,  and  say  to  him:  "Get 
ready  —  and  take  this  case.  I  can't  go  on." 

There  had  been  no  apparent  physical  collapse  on 
his  part,  no  fainting  nor  attack  of  vertigo,  nothing 
to  help  him  out  in  the  eyes  of  that  wondering, 
startled  company  of  observers.  He  had  been  able 
to  direct  his  assistants  how  to  hold  the  operation 
in  suspension  until  the  astonished,  unwilling  col 
league  could  make  ready  to  step  into  the  breach, 
cursing  under  his  breath  that  such  an  undesired 
honour  should  have  been  thrust  upon  him.  Then 
Leaver  had  walked  out  of  the  room,  quite  without 
assistance,  only  replying  wanly  to  those  who  ques 
tioned,  "There's  nothing  to  say.  I  couldn't  go  on 
with  it.  Yes,  I  am  perfectly  well." 

It  had  not  got  into  the  papers.  They  had  been 
kind  enough  to  see  to  that,  those  pitying  professional 
colleagues  who  had  witnessed  his  dispossession.  The 
patient  had  lived.  If  he  had  died  the  thing  must 
have  come  out.  But  he  had  lived.  The  situation 
could  not  have  been  as  desperate  a  one  as  it  had 
seemed.  The  other  man  had  handled  it, —  and  he 
was  by  no  means  a  man  eminent  in  his  profession. 
There  had  been  no  excuse,  then,  for  such  a  seizure, — 
no  excuse.  It  meant  —  the  end. 

Well,  it  was  certainly  the  end  of  recounting  it, 
for  when  he  had  reached  this  point  Leaver's  power 
to  endure  the  thought  of  it  all  failed  him,  and  he  lay 


ii4  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

back  upon  his  pillows,  his  brow  damp  and  his 
breath  short. 

Burns  silently  ministered  to  him,  pain  in  his  eyes, 
his  lips  drawn  tight  together.  His  sympathy  for 
his  friend  was  intense. 

It  seemed  to  him  incredible  that  this  shaken  spirit 
before  him  could  be  John  Leaver  —  Leaver,  whom, 
as  he  had  told  his  wife,  he  had  often  envied  his  per 
fect  self-command,  his  supposed  steadiness  of  pulse, 
his  whole  strong,  cool  personality,  unaffected  by 
issues  such  as  always  keyed  Burns  himself  up  to  a 
tremendous  tension,  making  him  pale  with  the  strain. 
"Leaver's  made  of  steel  wires,"  had  been  his  descrip 
tion  of  his  friend  to  Ellen.  Well,  the  steel  wires 
were  stretched  and  broken,  now,  no  doubt  of  that. 
The  question  was  whether  they  could  ever  be  mended 
and  restrung. 

When  Leaver  was  comfortable  again, —  comfort 
able  as  far  as  an  evenly  beating  heart  and  a  return 
of  blood  to  the  parts  which  needed  it  could  make 
him, —  Burns  spoke  to  him  once  more. 

"We  won't  talk  about  this  any  more  to-day, 
Jack,"  he  said.  "You've  had  enough  for  now,  and 
I  have  what  I  needed, —  the  facts  to  work  upon. 
Just  let  me  say  this  much.  I'm  not  discouraged 
by  anything  I've  heard  to-day.  I'll  not  try  any 
bluffs  or  jollyings  with  you,  because  I  know  they 
wouldn't  work,  but  I  do  say  this,  honestly:  I'm  not 


BROKEN  STEEL  WIRES  115 

discouraged.  And  I'm  interested  —  interested  to 
the  bottom  of  my  heart.  I'm  going  to  put  the  best 
there  is  in  me  into  this  problem.  I  never  tackled 
anything  in  my  life  that  appealed  to  me  more  power 
fully.  If  that's  any  comfort  just  now,  I  offer  it. 
If  you  were  my  brother  I  couldn't  be  more  anxious 
to  pull  you  out  of  this  ditch.  Now,  trust  me,  and 
try  to  go  to  sleep. " 

Leaver  did  not  look  up  at  the  kind,  almost  boyishly 
tender  face  above  him,  but  he  pressed  the  hand 
which  grasped  his  own,  and  Burns  saw  a  tear  creep 
out  from  under  the  closed  lids  of  the  eyes  under 
which  the  black  shadows  lay  so  deeply.  The  well 
man  took  himself  away  from  the  sick  one  as  quickly 
as  he  could  after  that, —  he  couldn't  bear  the  sight 
of  that  tear!  It  was  more  eloquent  of  Leaver's 
weakness  than  all  his  difficult  words. 

When  he  met  Miss  Mathewson,  an  hour  afterward, 
in  the  hall,  on  her  way  back  to  her  patient,  he 
delayed  her. 

"I  want  you  to  do  more  than  nurse  this  case, 
Amy,"  he  said,  fixing  her  with  a  certain  steady 
look  of  his  with  which  he  always  gave  commands. 
"I  want  you  to  put  all  your  powers,  as  a  woman, 
into  it.  Forget  that  you  are  nursing  Dr.  Leaver, 
try  to  think  of  him  as  a  friend.  You  can  make  one 
of  him,  if  you  try,  for  you  have  in  you  qualities 
which  will  appeal  to  him  —  if  you  will  let  him  see 


n6  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

them.     You   have  hardly  let  even  me  see  them," 

—  he  smiled  as  he  said  it, —  "but  my  eyes  have  been 
opened  at  last.     I'm  inclined  to  believe  that  you  can 
do  more  for  our  patient  than  even  my  wife  or  I, — 
if  you  will.     Suppose, "  —  he  spoke  with  a  touch  of 
the  dangerously  persuasive  manner  he  could  assume 
when  he  willed,   and  which  most  people   found   it 
hard  to  resist, —  "you  just  let  yourself  go,  and  try 

—  deliberately  try  —  to  make  Dr.  Leaver  like  you!" 
She    coloured    furiously    under    the    suggestion. 

"Dr.  Burns!  Do  you  realize  what  you're  saying?" 
"Quite  thoroughly.  I'm  asking  you  not  to  hesi 
tate  to  make  of  yourself  a  woman  of  interest  and 
charm  for  him,  for  the  sake  of  taking  him  out  of 
himself.  Isn't  that  a  perfectly  legitimate  part  for 
a  nurse  to  play  when  that  happens  to  be  the  medicine 
needed  ?  You  have  those  powers, —  how  better 
could  you  use  them  ?  Suppose  you  are  able,  through 
your  effect  of  sweetness  and  light,  to  minister  to 
a  mind  diseased; — isn't  that  quite  as  worthy  an 
occupation  as  counting  out  drops  of  aconite,  or 
applying  mustard  plasters?" 

Amy  Mathewson  shook  her  head.  "Do  you 
realize,  Dr.  Burns,  that  a  man  like  —  your  guest  — 
is  so  far  beyond  me  in  mind  and  —  tastes  —  in 
every  way,  that  I  could  never  —  interest  him  in 
the  way  you  speak  of  —  even  if  I  were  willing 
to  try?" 


BROKEN  STEEL  WIRES  117 

She  spoke  with  difficulty.  As  Burns  studied  her 
downbent  face,  the  profile  his  wife  had  brought  out 
by  her  skill  at  hair-dressing  showing  like  a  fine 
cameo  against  the  dark  background  of  the  wall,  he 
was  thinking  that  unless  Leaver  were  blind  he 
must  find  her  rather  satisfying  to  the  eye,  at  least. 
He  answered  her  with  confidence. 

"He's  a  man  of  education,  it's  true.  But  what 
are  you?  Come, —  haven't  I  found  all  sorts  of 
evidences,  about  my  office,  that  you  are  a  woman 
of  education?  It  doesn't  matter  whether  you  got 
that  education  in  a  college  or  from  the  books  I  know 
you  have  read, —  you  have  it.  I'll  trust  your  ability 
to  discuss  six  out  of  a  dozen  subjects  Leaver  may 
bring  up  —  or,  if  you  can't  discuss  them  all,  you 
can  do  what  is  better  —  let  him  instruct  you. 
Don't  tell  me  you  can't  handle  those  cards  every 
fascinating  woman  understands  so  well.  If  there's 
anything  a  man  likes  to  do  it's  to  teach  an  interested 
woman  the  things  she  cleverly  professes  she  wants 
to  know  —  and  the  best  of  it  is  that  no  matter  how 
often  you  play  that  game  on  us  we're  always  caught 
by  it.  Leaver  will  be  caught  by  it,  just  as  if  he 
hadn't  had  it  tried  on  him  a  thousand  times.  And 
while  he's  playing  it  with  you,  he'll  forget  himself, 
which  is  the  first  step  on  the  road  I  want  him  to 
travel." 

She  looked  up.     "Do  you   mean  that   I   am  to 


n8  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

keep  on  attending  him  after  he  is  able  to  leave  his 
room?  Is  he  going  to  stay  with  you  after  that? 
He  told  me  only  to-day  that  he  intends  to  go  as 
soon  as  he  is  able  to  travel." 

"We  shall  keep  him  as  long  as  we  can  possibly 
persuade  him  to  stay.  Meanwhile,  my  plan  is  to 
have  you  settle  down  and  stay  with  us,  as  a  member 
of  the  family.  We'll  have  some  one  else  attend  to  the 
office.  You  can  go  with  me,  as  usual,  when  I  oper 
ate,  but  I  shall  put  you  on  no  case  but  Dr.  Leaver's, 
and  the  greater  part  of  your  time  will  be  his. " 

"But  what  will  he  think?  Doesn't  he  know  that 
I'm  your  office  nurse?" 

"How  should  he  know  it  —  unless  you  have  taken 
pains  to  tell  him?" 

She  shook  her  head.  "He  only  knows  that  I  am 
your  assistant  at  operations.  The  other  point 
hasn't  come  up." 

"Good.  Then  he  will  accept  whatever  situation 
he  finds,  and  never  think  of  questioning  it.  The 
way  is  clear  enough.  And  it's  the  only  way  I  know 
of  to  insure  his  having  what  he  needs  —  the  close 
companionship  of  a  sympathetic  —  yet  not  too 
sympathetic  —  woman  —  with  a  face  like  yours, " 
he  added,  slyly. 

The  quick  colour  answered  this,  as  he  knew  it 
would.  "Dr.  Burns!  You  know  I'm  not  even  good 
looking!  Please  don't  say  such  things." 


BROKEN  STEEL  WIRES  119 

"I  only  said  'a  face  like  yours.'  That  may  imply 
a  face  as  plain  as  you  think  Amy  Mathewson's  is  — 
and  as  my  wife  and  I  know  it  is  not.  It's  time  you 
waked  up,  girl,  to  your  own  attractions.  You  ought 
to  have  faith  in  them  when  I'm  asking  the  use  of 
them  for  this  patient  of  mine.  Pd  give  about  all 
I  own  to  put  him  on  his  feet  again. " 

"I  hope  you  can  —  indeed  I  do.  And  of  course  — 
anything  I  can  do " 

He  nodded.  "I'll  leave  that  to  you.  Consult  — 
not  your  head  alone,  but  —  your  heart!" 

And  he  let  her  go,  smiling  at  her  evident  confusion 
of  mind.  But  when  left  alone  he  sighed  again. 

"He  needs  a  woman  like  my  Ellen, —  that  would 
be  a  drug  of  a  higher  potency.  But  —  he  can't 
have  that  —  he  can't  have  that!  I  must  do  the 
next  best  thing. " 

And  he  went  on  his  way,  studying  it  out. 

That  evening  he  took  his  wife  into  his  confidence. 
He  did  not  tell  her  the  whole  story, —  it  was  not  his 
to  tell.  But  he  made  her  acquainted  with  the  fact 
that  Leaver  had  had  a  severe  nervous  shock  and  that 
the  thing  to  be  overcome  was  his  own  distrust  of 
himself,  the  thing  to  be  recovered  was  his  entire 
self-command. 

"I  have  insisted  on  his  staying  as  long  as  he  can 
be  content, "  Burns  explained.  "  I  had  your  consent 
to  that,  I  know?" 


120  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

"Of  course,  Red.     You  knew  that. " 

"In  my  enthusiasm  I  went  a  step  further,  without 
realizing  that  I  had  not  consulted  you.  I  asked 
Amy  Mathewson  to  stay  with  us  too,  as  a  member 
of  the  family.  I  asked  her  cooperation  as  a  woman, 
as  well  as  a  nurse,  and  to  have  that  it  seemed  to 
me  necessary  to  have  her  here,  even  after  he  is  up 
and  able  to  look  after  his  own  wants.  How  will 
you  feel  about  that?" 

He  looked  straight  into  her  eyes.  They  were 
sitting  upon  a  small  side  porch,  in  the  late  June 
evening.  He  had  come  in  from  a  visit  to  a  near-by 
patient,  and,  finding  her  upon  the  porch,  had  thrown 
himself  upon  the  cushion  at  her  feet,  his  head  against 
her  knee.  Now,  he  turned  and  looked  up  at  her, 
and  she  could  see  his  expression  clearly  in  the 
moonlight. 

"I  don't  believe  I  quite  understand  yet,"  she 
said.  "What  is  it  that  you  want  Amy  to  do  for 
him,  £as  a  woman'?  Read  to  him,  and  walk  with 
him,  and  be  a  sort  of  comrade  ? " 

"Precisely  that  —  and  a  bit  more. " 

"Can  you  prescribe  that  sort  of  thing,  and  make 
sure  that  it  will  work  out?  He  may  not  care  for  it. " 

"I  want  him  to  have  a  woman's  companionship; 
it's  what  he  needs,  I  firmly  believe.  It  must  be  a 
certain  sort  of  woman  —  the  kind  who  will  be  good 
for  his  nerves,  gently  stimulating,  not  exacting.  One 


BROKEN  STEEL  WIRES  121 

of  the  brilliant  society  women  he  knows  wouldn't 
do  at  all.  The  ideal  kind  would  be  —  your  own 
kind.  But  he  can't  have  that."  He  spoke  so 
decidedly  that  she  smiled,  though  he  did  not  see  it. 
"It  seems  to  me  that  Amy,  if  she  puts  her  heart 
into  it,  can  give  him  just  what  he  needs.  Remember 
he's  a  sick  man,  and  will  continue  to  be  a  sick  man 
for  some  time  after  he's  walking  about  our  streets 
and  climbing  our  hills." 

"Yes,  Fm  afraid  he  will  be.  And  you  think  he 
will  accept  Amy's  companionship,  after  he  is  walking 
about,  as  a  part  of  his  medicine?  Shall  you  insist 
on  her  being  with  him,  or  is  she  to  wait  to  be  invited 
to  read  to  him  and  walk  with  him?" 

His  brows  knit  in  a  frown.  "You  think  I'm 
prescribing  something  I  can't  administer?  But  I 
think  that  he  will  grow  so  used  to  having  her  with 
him,  while  he  actually  needs  her  as  a  nurse,  that, 
when  he  gets  about  and  finds  her  still  here,  he  will 
quite  naturally  fall  into  the  way  of  seeking  her 
company." 

"Perhaps  he  will.  At  any  rate,  she  is  very 
welcome  to  stay,  as  long  as  you  want  her  for  the 
experiment." 

"You  are  an  angel!  I  realize  that  I  shouldn't 
have  made  such  an  arrangement  without  asking 
your  permission.  To  tell  the  truth,  I'm  so  used 
to " 


122  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

He  stopped  short,  with  a  little  ejaculation  of 
dismay. 

"I  understand,  dear,"  she  said  quickly.  "You 
are  so  used  to  being  master  of  the  house  that  you 
forgot  the  new  conditions.  It's  all  right  —  you  are 
still  master  —  particularly  in  everything  that  has 
to  do  with  your  profession.  And  if  you  can  find 
a  cure  for  poor  Dr.  Leaver's  broken  spirit  I  shall  be 
as  happy  as  you." 

"It's  going  to  make  you  a  lot  of  trouble, —  two 
guests  in  the  house,  for  an  indefinite  period.  You 
see,  I'm  just  waking  up  to  what  I'm  asking  of  you. 
It's  precisely  like  my  impetuosity  to  create  a  situa 
tion  I  can't  retreat  from,  and  then  wonder  at  my 
own  nerve.  Will  it  bother  you  very  much  ? " 

"It's  what  we're  here  for,  isn't  it?"  She  smiled 
at  him  as  he  turned  and  put  both  arms  around  her, 
kneeling  beside  her  in  the  shadow  of  the  vines. 
"It's  certainly  what  you  are  here  for,  and  I  am 
your  partner,  or  I'm  not  much  of  a  wife. " 

"Bless  you,  you  darling;  you  surely  are.  And 
such  a  partner!  If  Leaver  had  one  like  you  —  he 
wouldn't  be  where  he  is.  But  he  can't  have  you, " 
he  repeated,  and  held  her  closer.  "I  couldn't  see 
you  reading  to  him  and  walking  with  him,  and 
being  a  friend  to  him, —  I  couldn't  see  it,  that's  all, 
no  matter  how  much  good  you  might  do  him. 
Queer  —  I  didn't  know  that  was  in  me  —  that 


BROKEN  STEEL  WIRES  123 

feeling.  Macauley  calls  me  a  Turk.  I  guess  that's 
what  I  am.  It's  a  primitive  sort  of  instinct,  scoffed 
at  in  these  days  when  half  the  married  women  are 
playing  with  fire  in  the  shape  of  other  women's 
husbands.  But  I  hate  that  sort  of  thing  —  have 
always  hated  it.  I'm  a  Turk,  all  right.  Do  you 
mind?" 

"No,  I  don't  think  I  mind,"  she  answered  softly. 
"  But  I  want  your  perfect  trust,  Red. " 

"You  have  it,  oh,  you  have  it,  love.  No  possible 
question  of  that.  And  I  don't  mean  that  I'm  not 
willing  to  have  Leaver  get  what  he  can  of  your  dear- 
ness,  as  he's  bound  to  feel  it,  in  our  home.  But 
this  comrade  business,  which  I  feel  he's  so  much  in 
need  of, —  that's  what  he  can't  have  from  you. 
And  if  he  stayed  on,  and  there  was  no  other  woman 
about,  why,  quite  naturally " 

He  stopped.  Then,  as  she  was  silent,  "You 
won't  misunderstand  me,  little  wife?"  he  begged. 
"I've  seen  so  much  of  the  other  thing,  you  know. 
Can  I  be  —  enough  for  you?" 

"Quite  enough,  Red." 

After  a  minute  he  went  back  to  the  thing  which 
absorbed  him.  "I  can  see  you  haven't  much  con 
fidence  in  my  plan  for  Amy's  helping  him?" 

She  hesitated.  "You  spoke  just  now  of  playing 
with  fire.  You  don't  feel  that  in  throwing  two  people 
so  closely  together  you  are  risking  something?" 


124  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

He  considered  it.  "My  idea  is  that  Amy  will 
administer  her  comradeship  as  she  would  her  medi 
cines.  She  is  the  most  conscientious  girl  alive; 
she  won't  give  him  a  drop  too  much. " 

"Not  a  drop  too  much  for  his  good,  perhaps. 
But  what  about  hers,  dear?  When  he  is  himself 
Dr.  Leaver  can  be  a  wonderfully  interesting  and 
compelling  man,  you  know.  It  would  be  a  pity 
for  her  to  grow  to  care  for  him,  if  —  I  don't  suppose 
it  is  at  all  possible  to  expect  him  to  care  seriously 
for  her,  —  do  you?" 

"Well,  I  shouldn't  have  said  so  a  month  ago. 
But  I'm  just  beginning  to  realize  a  new  side  to 
Amy  Mathewson.  1  don't  suppose  I  ever  saw  her  — 
to  look  at  her  —  out  of  her  uniform,  before  that 
night  when  you  dressed  her  up.  By  George,  along 
with  the  clothes  she  seemed  to  put  on  a  new  skin ! " 

"Uniforms  are  disguising  things,"  Ellen  admitted, 
"and  Amy  is  a  lady,  born  and  bred,  in  her  uniform 
and  out  of  it.  But  it's  not  much  use  speculating  on 
what  will  happen,  when  the  arrangements  are  already 
made.  We  must  just  do  our  best  for  Dr.  Leaver, 
and  hope  that  no  harm  will  come  to  either  of  them. " 

"None  will  —  under  your  roof,"  her  husband 
asserted  confidently. 


CHAPTER  VII 

POINTS    OF   VIEW 

A  LADY  downstairs  to  see  you,  Mrs.  Burns." 
Cynthia  presented  a  card. 

It  was  early  morning.  Ellen  had  just  seen  her 
husband  off  in  the  Green  Imp,  and  was  busy  at 
various  housewifely  tasks.  She  took  the  card  in 
some  surprise,  for  morning  calls  were  not  much  in 
vogue  in  this  small  town.  But  when  she  read  the 
name — "Miss  Ruston"  —  she  gave  a  little  cry  of 
delight,  and  ran  downstairs  as  one  goes  to  welcome  a 
long  absent  friend. 

A  graceful  figure,  radiant  with  health  and  good 
looks,  dressed  in  the  trimmest  and  simplest  of 
travelling  attire,  yet  with  a  gay  and  saucy  air  about 
her  somewhere,  quite  difficult  to  locate,  rose  as 
Ellen  came  in.  Dark  eyes  flashed,  lips  smiled 
happily,  and  a  pair  of  arms  opened  wide.  Ellen 
found  herself  caught  and  held  in  a  warm  embrace, 
which  she  returned  with  a  corresponding  ardour. 

"Why,  Charlotte,  dear!"  she  cried.  "Where 
did  you  come  from?  And  why  didn't  you  let  me 
know?" 


126  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

"  Straight  from  home,  Len,  darling.  And  I  didn't 
let  you  know  because  I  didn't  know  myself  till  I  was 
here.  Oh,  do  let  me  look  at  you!  How  dear,  how 
dear  you  are!  I  had  almost  forgotten  anybody 
could  be  so  lovely. " 

"That  sounds  like  you,  you  enthusiastic  person. 
How  glad  I  am  to  see  you  —  it  seems  so  long.  I  hope 
you  have  come  to  make  me  a  visit,  now  you  are  here." 

"Just  a  wee  one,  for  a  day,  while  I  make  plans 
at  express  speed,  and  fly  back  again  to  grandmother. 
I  left  her  in  Baltimore. " 

"Really?  Did  you  bring  her  'way  up  from 
Charleston  ?  Then  she  must  be  pretty  well  ? " 

"Very  well,  if,  like  a  piece  of  old  china,  I  keep 
her  quiet  on  the  top  shelf.  Baltimore  is  the  bottom 
shelf,  for  her,  even  though  she's  with  the  Priedieus, 
who  will  take  the  kindest  care  of  her.  Hence  my 
haste.  Oh,  I  can't  wait  a  minute  till  I  tell  you  my 
plans.  Let  me  splash  my  dusty  face  and  I'll  plunge 
in.  I  want  your  advice,  your  interest,  and  your  — 
cooperation ! " 

"You  shall  have  them  all,  my  dearest  girl.  Come 
upstairs,"  and  Ellen  led  the  way,  Miss  Ruston 
following  with  a  small  travelling  bag  of  which  she 
would  not  give  her  hostess  possession. 

"What  a  dear  house!"  The  guest  was  throwing 
rapid  glances  all  about  her  as  she  mounted  the 
stairs.  "  I  should  have  known  that  living-room  was 


POINTS  OF  VIEW  127 

yours  if  I  hadn't  had  your  Aunt  Lucy's  famous 
old  desk  to  give  me  a  clue.  O,  Len,  the  very  back 
of  you  is  enchanting!" 

Ellen  turned  to  laugh  at  Charlotte  Ruston's 
characteristic  fervour  of  expression.  "I  remember 
you  are  always  admiring  people's  backs,"  she 
observed. 

"Yes,  they're  often  so  much  more  interesting  than 
their  faces.  But  yours  —  merely  gives  promise  of 
what  the  face  fulfills!  Forgive  me,  Len, —  you  know 
when  I  haven't  seen  you  for  ages  I  have  to  tell  you 
what  I  think  of  you.  In  here?  Oh,  what  an 
adorable  room!" 

It  was  Ellen's  own.  She  was  thinking  rapidly. 
Dr.  John  Leaver  occupied  one  of  her  two  guest 
rooms,  Amy  Mathewson  the  other.  She  should 
have  to  turn  Bob  out  of  the  bachelor's  room,  and 
send  him  down  to  stay  with  Cynthia.  But  Miss 
Ruston  put  an  end  to  her  planning  at  once  by  adding: 

"  I  can't  even  sleep  under  your  roof,  Len,  for  I've 
engaged  my  berth  on  the  sleeper  to-night.  I'm 
always  in  such  anxiety  about  Granny  when  I  get 
her  away  from  her  quiet  corner.  Now  let  me  make 
myself  clean  with  all  haste,  that  I  may  not  lose  a 
minute  of  this  happy  day  with  you." 

She  was  as  good  as  her  word,  and  in  five  minutes 
was  looking  as  fresh  as  the  fortunate  possessor  of 
much  rich  and  youthful  bloom  can  be  at  a  touch 


128  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

of  soap  and  water.  She  gave  her  hostess  a  second 
embrace,  laying  a  cheek  like  a  June  rose  against 
Ellen's  more  delicately  tinted  cheek,  and  murmur 
ing: 

"I  never  can  tell  you  how  I  have  missed  you  since 
that  all-conquering  husband  of  yours  brought  you  off 
up  North.  By  the  way,  is  that  his  photograph?" 

She  was  looking  over  Ellen's  shoulder  at  a  picture 
in  an  ivory-and-silver  frame  upon  the  dressing- 
table.  She  answered  her  own  question. 

"Of  course  it  is.  Pd  know  by  the  look  of  him  that 
he  must  be  Red  Pepper  Burns. "  She  went  over  and 
examined  the  pictured  face  closely.  "I  could  make 
a  better  picture  of  him  than  that, —  I  know  it  without 
seeing  him  in  the  flesh.  What  a  splendid  pair  of 
eyes!  Do  they  look  right  down  into  your  inmost 
thoughts  —  or  do  they  see  only  as  far  as  your  liver? 
Fine  head,  good  mouth,  straight  nose,  chin  like  a 
stone  wall !  Goodness !  do  you  never  meet  up  with 
that  chin?" 

She  looked  around  at  Ellen  with  mischief  in  her 
bright  brown  eyes. 

"Of  course  I  do!  Would  you  have  a  man  chin- 
less?" 

"Luckily,  you  have  a  determined  little  round  chin 
of  your  own,"  Miss  Ruston  observed.  "And  you're 
happy  with  him?  Yes,  I  can  see  it  in  your  face. 
Well,  now,  shall  we  talk  about  me?  Because  I 


POINTS  OF  VIEW  129 

have  so  little  time,  you  know,  and  so  much  has  to 
be  settled  before  night. " 

"Tell  me  all  about  it  at  once,  dear."  And  Ellen 
established  her  guest  in  a  high-backed,  cushioned 
wicker  chair  by  the  window,  and  sat  down  close  by. 
The  two  looked  at  each  other,  smiling. 

"Well,  Len,  I  never  could  lead  up  to  a  thing; 
I  have  to  tell  it  in  one  burst,  and  trust  to  Providence 
to  sustain  the  hearer.  What  would  you  say  —  to 
—  my  coming  to  this  place  for  a  year,  renting  a 
cottage,  putting  in  a  skylight,  and  —  practising  my 
profession  of  photography  in  your  midst?" 

"Charlotte  Ruston!" 

"My  middle  name  is  Chase,"  observed  Miss 
Ruston,  laying  her  head  back  against  the  chair,  and 
smiling  out  at  Mrs.  Burns  through  half-closed  lids. 
"Charlotte  Chase  Ruston  forms  a  quite  imposing 
signature  to  imprint  upon  the  distinguished  portraits 
she  is  to  make.  Portraits  of  the  aristocracy  who 
can  afford  to  pay  ever  so  many  dollars  a  dozen  for 
likenesses  of  themselves  in  exquisite,  informal  poses, 
with  wonderful  shadows  just  where  they  will  hide 
the  most  defects,  and  splendid  high  lights  where  they 
will  bring  out  all  the  charm  the  subjects  didn't  know 
they  possessed." 

"Charlotte!  Have  you  been  studying  in  secret? 
I  know  you  do  delightful  amateur  work,  but  —  a 
studio!  Do  you  dare?" 


130  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

"I've  worked  a  year  in  the  developing  room  of 
the  Misses  Kendall,  and  have  been  allowed  to  make 
trial  studies  of  subjects,  when  they  were  busy. 
I  have  their  friendship,  also  that  of  Brant  — 
Eugene  Brant  —  who  does  the  cleverest  profession 
ally  amateur  studio  work  in  the  world,  according 
to  my  humble  opinion.  And  the  Kendalls  do  the 
finest  garden  and  outdoor  studies,  as  you  know. 
Could  I  have  better  training?  Mr.  Brant  thinks 
me  fit  to  start  a  city  studio  —  a  modest  one  —  but 
the  Misses  Kendall  advise  a  year  in  a  small  town, 
just  working  for  experience  and  perfection.  Then 
when  I  do  begin  in  a  bigger  place  I'll  be  ready  to  do 
work  of  real  distinction.  Come,  tell  me,  isn't  it  a 
beautiful  plan?" 

"Any  plan,  which  brings  you  to  live  near  me, 
is  a  beautiful  plan.  And  you've  really  chosen  this 
little  town ?  How  did  you  come  to  do  it? " 

"Tales  of  the  beauty  of  the  region,  and  the  re 
flection  that,  since  one  small  town  in  it  was  probably 
as  good  as  another,  there  was  no  reason  why  I 
shouldn't  be  near  one  of  my  dearest  friends,  and 
have,  frankly,  the  help  of  her  patronage.  Shall 
you  mind  giving  it  to  me  ? " 

"I'll  bring  you  a  dozen  subjects  the  first  day. 
I  suppose  you  haven't  looked  about  at  all  as  yet 
for  the  place?" 

"I  shall  not  need  to,  if  you  won't  object  to  having 


POINTS  OF  VIEW  131 

me  close  by,  even  so  near  as  across  the  road.  As 
I  stood  on  your  doorstep  I  saw  my  future  studio 
spring,  full-fledged,  into  view,  with  a  'To  rent' 
notice  already  up.  Could  I  have  a  plainer  sign 
that  my  good  fairy  is  attending  my  footsteps?" 

Miss  Ruston  leaned  forward  to  the  window  as 
she  spoke,  drew  aside  the  thin  curtain  which  swayed 
there  in  the  summer  breeze,  and  pointed  across  the 
street.  "Isn't  there  a  little  old  cottage,  back  in 
there  somewhere,  in  a  tangle  of  old-fashioned 
flowers?  It  doesn't  show  from  here,  I  see,  but  from 
below  I  caught  just  a  glimpse  of  its  unimposing 
dimensions.  The  sign  is  on  the  gate,  in  the  hedge. 
It's  simply  perfect  that  the  place  should  have  a 
hedge!" 

"Evidently  you  didn't  inspect  it  very  closely, 
Charlotte  dear.  It's  a  most  forlorn  little  old  place, 
and  much  run  down.  Two  old  ladies  have  lived 
there  all  their  lives,  and  have  died  there  within  the 
year.  They  would  never  sell,  although,  as  you  see, 
the  neighbourhood  all  about  is  built  up  with  modern 
houses  —  all  except  our  own.  This  house  is  quite 
old,  I  believe,  too. " 

"Two  old  ladies  lived  and  died  there,  did  they?" 
mused  Charlotte  Ruston.  "Their  gentle  ghosts 
won't  trouble  us,  and  Granny  will  delight  in  that 
garden.  What  a  background  for  an  outdoor  studio! 
Do  let's  go  over  and  explore  the  place,  will  you?" 


i32  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

As  they  crossed  the  street  the  newcomer  was 
using  her  eyes  with  eager  observation.  "It's  a 
fine  old  street,"  she  said,  "with  all  these  beautiful 
trees.  What  a  pity  it  is  mostly  so  modern  in  the 
matter  of  architecture!  I  wonder  if  the  people  in 
those  houses  will  think  me  out  of  my  head,  to  begin 
with,  because  I  choose  this  quaint  little  dwelling- 
place.  I  shall  choose  it,  Len,  if  I  can  get  it,  I  warn 
you." 

With  some  difficulty  they  opened  the  gate  in  the 
hedge,  and  proceeded  up  the  path  of  moss-grown 
stones  to  the  house,  set  so  far  back  from  the  street 
that  it  was  nearly  concealed  by  the  growth  of  un- 
trimmed  shrubbery,  old  rose-bushes  heavy  with  pink 
and  white  roses,  lilac  trees,  and  barberry-bushes. 

"Of  all  the  dear,  queer,  little  front  porches!" 
Miss  Ruston  cried,  setting  her  exploring  foot  on  a 
porch  floor  which  promptly  sagged  beneath  her 
weight.  She  threw  a  quizzical  glance  at  her  com 
panion.  "Even  though  the  roof  falls  in  on  my 
head,  and  the  walls  sway  as  I  pass  by,  I  must  have 
this  house  —  if  it  is  dry!  Of  course  I  can't  bring 
Granny  to  a  damp  house.  Putting  in  my  skylight 
and  shingling  the  rest  of  the  roof  will  take  care  of 
dampness  from  above,  but  I  must  look  after  the 
floors  and  foundations.  Who  owns  it,  and  how 
can  we  get  in?" 

An  hour  later  the  key  had  been  obtained  from  the 


POINTS  OF  VIEW  133 

astonished  owner,  an  inhabitant  of  one  of  the  modern 
houses  near  by  and  a  nephew  of  the  former  occupants, 
and  the  place  had  been  thoroughly  gone  over.  It  was 
examined  by  a  future  tenant  who  made  light  of  all 
the  real  drawbacks  to  the  place — as  the  owner  secretly 
considered  them  —  but  who  demanded  absolutely 
water-tight  conditions  as  the  price  of  her  rent. 
As  she  was  willing  to  pay  what  seemed  to  the  land 
lord  an  extraordinary  rent  —  though  he  carefully 
concealed  his  feelings  on  this  point  —  he  somewhat 
grudgingly  agreed  to  put  in  the  skylight  and  shingle 
the  roof. 

"But  when  it  comes  to  paint  and  paper  and 
plumbing,  the  house  isn't  worth  it,  and  I  can't  agree 
to  do  it,  "he  declared  positively.  "Not  for  any  one 
year  rental." 

"I  don't  want  paint,  paper,  or  plumbing,"  she 
replied,  and  he  set  her  down  as  eccentric  indeed. 
"But  I  do  want  that  fireplace  unsealed,  and  if  you 
will  put  that  and  the  chimney  in  order,  so  I  can 
have  fires  there,  I  won't  ask  for  any  modern  conven 
iences.  When  can  you  have  it  ready  for  me?  By 
the  middle  of  July?" 

He  did  not  think  this  possible,  but  his  new 
tenant  convinced  him  that  it  was,  and  went  away 
smiling,  her  hands  full  of  June  roses,  and  her  spirits 
high.  It  was  with  her  vivid  personality  at  its  best 
that  she  presently  took  her  place  at  the  luncheon 


i34  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

table,  meeting  there,  however,  at  first,  only  Miss 
Mathewson. 

"My  patient  has  fallen  asleep  after  his  walk," 
Amy  explained  to  Mrs.  Burns,  as  she  came  in. 
"I  thought  he  had  better  not  be  wakened." 

"You  were  quite  right,  I  am  sure,"  Ellen  agreed. 
Then  she  made  the  two  young  women  known  to 
each  other,  and  the  three  sat  down.  R.  P.  Burns, 
M.  D.,  rushing  in  the  midst  of  the  meal,  found 
them  laughing  merrily  together  over  a  tale  the 
guest  had  been  telling. 

As  Burns  came  forward  Miss  Ruston  rose  to 
meet  him.  The  two  regarded  each  other  with 
undisguised  interest  as  they  shook  hands. 

"Yes,  I  can  make  a  much  better  photograph  of 
you  than  the  one  on  your  wife's  dressing-table, " 
said  she,  judicially,  and  laughed  at  his  astonished 
expression. 

"Can  you,  indeed?"  he  inquired.  "Have  you 
a  snapshot  camera  concealed  anywhere  about 
you?  If  so,  I'll  consider  going  back  to  town  for 
my  luncheon." 

"You  are  safe  for  to-day,"  Ellen  assured  him, 
and  he  sat  down. 

He  was  told  the  tale  of  the  morning,  the  subject 
introduced  by  his  wife,  and  amplified  by  their 
guest.  He  expressed  his  interest. 

"You  have  a  good  courage,  Miss  Ruston,"  said 


POINTS  OF  VIEW  135 

he.  "And  we'll  agree  to  stand  by  you.  Any  time, 
in  the  middle  of  the  night,  that  we  hear  the  crash 
and  fall  of  decayed  old  timbers,  we'll  come  to  the 
rescue  and  pull  you  out.  We  don't  have  much 
excitement  here.  The  wreck  will  have  the  advantage 
of  advertising  you  thoroughly.  Then  you  can  build 
a  tight  little  bungalow  on  the  spot  and  settle  down 
to  real  business." 

Miss  Ruston  shook  her  shapely  head.  "No 
tight  little  bungalows  for  me, "  she  averred.  "Those 
vine-clad  old  walls  will  make  wonderful  back 
grounds  for  my  outdoor  subjects  —  they  and  the 
garden.  Then,  indoors  —  the  fireplace,  the  queer 
old  doors " 

Red  Pepper  looked  at  his  wife.  "Has  the  village 
a  passion  for  quaintness?"  he  asked  her.  "Will 
our  leading  citizens  want  to  be  photographed  in 
their  old  hoopskirts,  with  roses  behind  their  ears?" 

"Oh,  you  don't  understand!"  cried  Miss  Ruston. 
"Ellen  —  will  you  excuse  me  while  I  run  up  and 
bring  down  an  example  or  two  of  my  work?" 

She  was  back  in  a  minute,  several  prints  in  her 
hand.  She  came  around  behind  Burns's  chair  and 
laid  one  before  him,  another  before  Amy  Mathew- 
son.  Ellen,  who  had  already  seen  the  prints, 
watched  her  husband's  face  as  he  examined  the 
photograph. 

"You  don't  intend  me  to  understand,"  said  he, 


136  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

after  a  minute's  steady  scrutiny,  "that  this  is  a 
photograph  of  actual  children?" 

Miss  Ruston  nodded.  Her  face  glowed  with 
enthusiasm  over  her  work.  "Indeed  it  is.  Flesh 
and  blood  children  —  Rupert  and  Rodney  Trumbull. 
And  it's  really  the  night  before  Christmas,  too. 
They  were  not  acting  the  part  —  it  was  the  real 
thing." 

Burns  continued  to  study  the  picture  —  of  two 
small  boys  in  their  night-clothes,  standing  before 
a  chimney-piece,  looking  up  at  their  stockings,  at 
that  last  wondering,  enchanted  moment  before  they 
should  lay  hands  upon  the  mysteries  before  them. 
The  glow  of  the  firelight  was  upon  them,  the 
shadows  behind  held  the  small  sturdy  figures  in  an 
exquisitely  soft  embrace.  It  was  such  a  photograph 
as  combines  the  workings  of  the  most  delicate  art 
with  the  unconscious  posing  of  absolute  realism. 

Burns  looked  from  the  picture  to  his  wife's  face. 
"We  must  have  one  of  Bobby  like  that,"  said  he. 

Ellen  agreed,  her  eyes  meeting  her  friend's  over 
his  head.  The  guest  laid  another  print  before  him. 
"Since  you  like  fireplace  effects,"  she  explained. 
Then  she  gave  the  Christmas-eve  picture  to  Miss 
Mathewson,  smiling  as  Amy,  returning  the  print 
she  had  been  studying,  said  softly,  "It  is  wonderful 
work,  Miss  Ruston.  I  shall  want  one  of  my  mother 
like  this." 


POINTS  OF  VIEW  137 

"You  shall  have  it,"  Miss  Ruston  promised. 

Burns  exclaimed  with  pleasure  over  the  present 
ment  of  a  little  old  lady,  knitting  before  a  fire,  a 
faint  smile  on  her  face,  as  if  she  were  thinking  of 
lovely  things  as  she  worked.  As  in  the  other 
picture  the  shadows  were  soft  and  hazy,  only  the 
surfaces  touched  by  the  fireglow  showing  with 
distinctness,  the  whole  effect  almost  illusive,  yet 
giving  more  of  the  human  touch  than  any  clear  and 
distinct  details  could  possibly  have  done. 

"That  is  Granny,"  said  Miss  Ruston,  a  gentle 
note  in  her  eager  voice.  "My  little  piece  of  price 
less  porcelain  which  I  guard  with  all  the  defences 
at  my  command.  Tell  me,  Dr.  Burns,  I  shall  not 
be  bringing  her  into  any  danger  if  I  put  her  in  the 
little  old  house,  when  it  is  made  right?" 

"  If  you  are  thinking  of  bringing  this  old  lady  here, " 
said  he,  emphatically,  his  eyes  on  the  picture  again, 
"you  must  let  me  look  the  place  over  thoroughly 
for  you  first. " 

"But  Pve  engaged  it!"  cried  his  wife's  friend,  in 
dismay. 

"That  doesn't  matter.  You  will  call  it  all  off 
again,  if  I  don't  find  the  place  can  be  made  fit," 
said  he.  "Old  ladies  like  this  shall  not  be  risked  in 
doubtful  places,  no  matter  how  quaint  and  artistic 
the  background,  not  while  I  am  on  hand  to  prevent." 

Miss    Ruston    looked   at  Mrs.  Burns.      "Is    this 


138  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

what  he  is  like?"  said  she,  in  dismay.     "I  didn't 
reckon  with  him.r" 

"You  will  have  to  reckon  with  me  now,"  said 
Red  Pepper  Burns,  with  coolness. 

"But  the  owner  says  it  can  be  made  perfectly 
tight.  And  I  have  to  go  back  to-night!" 

"The  owner  of  a  sieve  would  say  it  could  be  made 
perfectly  tight  —  if  it  was  wanted  for  a  dishpan. 
And  you  are  at  liberty  to  go  back  to-night  —  much 
as  we  shall  dislike  to  lose  you.  I  will  take  time  to 
go  over,  right  now,  and  make  sure  of  this  thing  for 
you." 

He  rose  as  he  spoke. 

"Well,  of  all  the  positive  gentlemen!  Will  you 
stay  to  look  at  one  more  ?  It  may  soften  that  au 
stere  mood." 

Miss  Ruston  gave  him  a  third  print.  It  was  of 
a  very  beautiful  woman  standing  beside  a  window, 
the  attitude  apparently  unstudied,  the  lighting  un 
usual  and  picturesque,  the  whole  effect  challenging 
all  conventional  laws  of  photography. 

"It's  very  nice  —  very  nice,"  said  Burns,  in 
differently.  "But  it's  not  in  it  with  the  old  lady 
by  the  fire.  I'll  run  across  and  make  sure  of  her 
quarters,  if  you  please. " 

"That  will  be  wonderfully  good  of  you,"  and  the 
guest  looked  after  her  host,  dubiously,  as  he  went 
out. 


POINTS  OF  VIEW  139 

"Does  one  have  to  do  everything  he  says,  in  these 
parts?"  she  inquired,  glancing  from  Mrs.  Burns 
to  Miss  Mathewson,  both  of  whom  were  smiling. 
Her  own  expression  was  an  odd  mixture  of  interest 
and  rebellion. 

Miss  Mathewson  spoke  first.  "I  have  been  his 
surgical  assistant  for  more  than  nine  years,"  said 
she.  "When  I  have  ventured  to  depart  from  the 
line  he  laid  out  for  me  I  have  —  been  very  sorry, 
afterward." 

"Did  you  ever  venture  to  depart  very  far?" 

"Do  I  look  so  meek?" 

"You  don't  look  meek  at  all,  but  you  do  look — 
conscientious."  Miss  Ruston  gave  her  a  daring 
look. 

Amy  spoke  with  more  spirit  than  the  others  had 
expected.  "If  I  were  not  conscientious  I  couldn't 
work  for  Dr.  Burns." 

"He  doesn't  look  conscientious,  to  me,"  declared 
Miss  Ruston.  "He  looks  adventurous,  audacious, 
unexpected." 

"Perhaps  he  is.  But  he  doesn't  expect  his 
assistant  nurse  to  be  adventurous,  audacious,  or 
unexpected!" 

"Good  for  you!"  Miss  Ruston  was  laughing,  and 
looking  with  newly  roused  interest  at  this  young 
woman,  whom  she  had  perhaps  taken  to  be  of  a 
more  commonplace  type  than  her  words  now  indi- 


140  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

cated.  "As  for  my  friend,  Mrs.  Burns  —  he  is  her 
husband,  and  she  must  have  known  what  he  was 
like,  since  I,  in  one  short  hour,  have  already  dis 
covered  two  or  three  of  his  characteristics!  Well, 
here's  hoping  he's  on  my  side,  when  he  comes  back. 
If  he's  not " 

But  when  he  came  back  he  was  on  her  side,  reluc 
tantly  convinced  by  a  painstaking  examination  of 
the  possibilities  in  the  old  cottage,  and  by  a  man-to 
man  talk  with  its  owner  as  to  his  good  faith  in  prom 
ising  to  carry  out  the  lessee's  requirements. 

"Though  what  in  the  name  of  time  possesses  a 
stunning  girl  like  that  to  come  here  and  shut  herself 
up  in  Aunt  Selina's  old  rookery,  I  can't  make  out," 
the  landlord,  Burns's  neighbour,  had  confessed. 

"Possibly  she  won't  shut  herself  up,"  Burns  had 
suggested,  though  he  himself  had  been  unable  to 
discover  the  mysterious  attraction  of  the  little  old 
house.  The  garden  promised  better,  he  thought. 
He  could  understand  her  being  caught  by  the 
forsaken  though  powerful  charm  of  that.  Doubtless 
it  would  furnish  backgrounds  for  her  outdoor 
photography,  which  would  put  to  blush  any  painted 
screens  such  as  the  village  photographers  were  accus 
tomed  to  use. 

He  returned  to  give  Miss  Ruston  his  sanction  of 
her  project,  and  to  receive  her  half-mocking,  wholly 
grateful  acknowledgment. 


POINTS  OF  VIEW  141 

"And  I  hope,  Dr.  Burns,"  said  she,  as  he  took 
leave  of  her,  his  watch  in  his  left  hand  as  he  shook 
hands  with  his  right,  "that  you  will  let  me  make 
that  photograph  of  you,  at  the  very  beginning  of 
my  stay  here. " 

"With  a  clump  of  hollyhocks  behind  me,  or  a 
'queer  old  door'?"  he  inquired. 

"With  nothing  behind  you  except  darkness  and 
mystery,"  said  she. 

"I  thought  those  were  the  things  one  looked 
toward,  not  out  of?" 

"Your  patients  looking  toward  'the  black  un 
known/  and  seeing  your  face,  must  find  their  future 
lighted  with  hope!" 

He  turned  and  looked  at  his  wife,  a  sparkle  in  his 
eye.  "She's  from  the  big  town,"  said  he.  "Here 
in  the  country  we  don't  know  how  to  give  fine, 
fascinating  blarney  like  that,  eh?  Good-bye,  Miss 
Ruston,  and  good  luck.  Bring  the  little  grand 
mother  carefully  wrapped  in  jeweller's  cotton  — 
nothing  is  too  good  for  her!" 

When  luncheon  was  over  Mrs.  Burns  and  her 
guest  went  of?  for  a  long  drive,  Miss  Ruston  being 
anxious  to  explore  the  region  of  which  she  had  heard 
as  offering  a  field  for  her  camera.  The  drive,  taken 
in  the  Macauley  car,  by  Martha's  invitation,  and 
in  the  company  of  Martha  herself,  Winifred  Chester, 
and  several  children,  prevented  much  confidential 


142  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

talk  between  the  two  friends,  and  it  was  not  until 
a  few  minutes  before  train  time,  at  five  o'clock,  that 
the  two  were  for  a  brief  space  again  alone  together. 

"Fm  so  sorry  you  are  not  to  be  here  at  dinner," 
Ellen  said,  as  Miss  Ruston  repacked  her  small 
travelling  bag,  while  the  car  waited  outside  to  take 
her  to  the  station.  "I  should  have  liked  you  to 
meet  our  guest,  Dr.  Leaver.  He  is  an  old  friend 
of  my  husband's,  who  has  been  ill  and  is  here 
convalescing.  He  over-tired  himself  in  taking  a 
walk  this  morning,  and  has  been  resting  in  his  room 
all  the  afternoon. " 

Charlotte  Ruston,  adjusting  a  smart  little  veil 
before  Ellen's  mirror,  her  back  to  her  friend,  asked, 
after  a  moment's  pause: 

"Dr.  Leaver?  Not  Dr.  John  Leaver,  of  Balti 
more?" 

"Yes,  indeed.     Do  you  know  him?" 

"I  have  met  him.  Is  he  ill?  I  hadn't  heard 
of  that." 

"He  has  worked  very  hard,  and  is  worn  out," 
explained  Ellen,  choosing  her,  terms  carefully.  Her 
husband  had  warned  her  against  allowing  any 
definite  news  concerning  Leaver  to  get  back  to  his 
home  city.  "He  is  improving,  and  we  are  keeping 
him  here  because  it  is  a  place  where  he  can  be  out 
of  the  world,  for  a  time,  and  not  be  called  upon  to 
go  back  before  he  should.  So  please  don't  mention 


POINTS  OF  VIEW  143 

to  your  Baltimore  friends  that  he  is  here.  I  am 
ever  so  sorry,  if  you  know  him,  that  he  wasn't  down 
to-day.  It  might  have  done  him  good  to  see  the 
face  of  an  acquaintance." 

"It  might  be  too  stimulating  for  him,"  suggested 
Miss  Ruston.  She  seemed  difficult  to  satisfy  in  the 
matter  of  the  veil's  adjustment.  Though  she  had 
had  it  fastened,  she  now  took  it  off  and  began  again 
to  arrange  it. 

"Can't  I  help  you?"  Ellen  offered,  coming  close. 

"Thank  you,  I  can  manage  it.  I  had  it  too  tight. 
I  suppose  your  guest  will  be  gone  before  I  come 
back?" 

"  I  don't  know.  He  needs  a  long  rest,  and  we  shall 
keep  him  just  as  long  as  he  can  be  contented.  Not 
that  he  is  contented  to  be  idle,  but  it  is  what  he  needs. 
He  is  going  to  need  diversion,  too,  and  perhaps  you 
can  help  supply  it,  when  you  come  back.  Do  you 
know  him  well  enough  to  know  what  an  interesting 
man  he  is?" 

"I  have  heard  people  talk  about  him  who  do," 
said  Miss  Ruston.  "But  I  hope  he  will  be  quite 
recovered  and  away  before  I  come  back  —  for  his 
own  sake.  There,  I  believe  this  veil's  on,  at  last. 
What  a  terrible  colour  it  gives  one  to  drive  in  the 
sun  all  afternoon!  I  must  put  on  plenty  of  cold 
cream  to-night,  or  I  shall  be  a  fright  to-morrow." 

"Why,  you  are  burned!       I  hadn't  noticed  it  be- 


144  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

fore.  And  the  top  was  up,  all  the  time,  too.  But 
it's  very  becoming,  Charlotte,  since  it  seems  to  have 
confined  itself  to  your  cheeks.  One's  nose  is  usually 
the  worst  sufferer. " 

"That  will  probably  show  later.  I  must  be  off. 
Thank  you,  dear  —  dearest  —  for  all  you  have  done 
for  me  to-day.  It's  been  such  a  happy  day,  I  can't 
tell  you  how  I  feel  about  it. " 

Charlotte  Chase  Ruston  laid  her  burning,  rose- 
hued  cheek  against  her  friend's  —  cool  and  quite 
unburned  by  the  drive  —  embraced  her,  and  hurried 
down  the  stairs.  She  seemed  in  haste  to  be  off, 
but  it  was  like  her  to  be  eager  to  do  whatever  was 
to  be  done.  Ellen  looked  after  her  as  the  Macauley 
car  bore  her  away. 

"Dear  Charlotte!"  she  said  to  herself.  "It's 
like  having  a  warm,  invigorating  wind  sweep  over 
one  to  have  her  company,  even  for  a  day.  How 
I  shall  enjoy  her,  when  she  comes !  Of  all  the  young 
women  I  know  she  seems  to  me  the  most  alive. 
I  wish  Dr.  Leaver  had  been  down  to-day.  He 
would  surely  have  liked  to  see  her;  I  never  knew  a 
man  who  didn't.  If  he  has  ever  met  her,  he  must 
remember  her.  But  perhaps  he  will  want  to  run 
away,  if  he  knows  any  one  who  knows  him  has 
found  him  out.  Perhaps  it  will  be  better  not  to 
tell  him  —  just  yet. " 


CHAPTER  VIII 

UNDER  THE    APPLE    TREE 

A  WALK,  Miss  Mathewson?     Yes,  I'll  take  a 
walk  —  or  a  pill  —  or  whatever  is  due.     Did 
you  ever  have  a  more  obedient  patient?" 

John  Leaver  rose  slowly  from  the  steamer-chair 
in  a  corner  of  the  porch  where  he  had  been  lying, 
staring  idly  at  the  vines  which  sheltered  him  from 
the  village  street,  or  out  at  the  strip  of  lawn  upon 
which  the  early  evening  light  was  falling.  His  tall 
figure  straightened  itself;  evidently  it  cost  him  an 
effort  to  force  his  shoulders  into  their  naturally 
erect  carriage.  But  as  he  walked  down  the  path 
by  Miss  Mathewson's  side  there  was  not  much 
look  of  the  invalid  about  him.  His  face,  though 
still  rather  thin,  showed  a  healthy  colour,  the  result 
of  constant  exposure  to  the  sun  and  air.  His  days 
were  spent  wholly  out  of  doors. 

"Which  way,  this  time?"  Amy  asked,  as  they 
reached  the  street. 

"Away  from  things  rather  than  toward  them, 
please.  I  shall  be  very  glad  when  I  can  tramp  off 
into  the  open  country." 

us 


i46  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

Amy  glanced  across  the  street.  "Don't  you 
want  to  approach  a  visit  to  the  country  by  exploring 
the  old  garden,  over  there?  I  hear  that  it  has  all 
sorts  of  treasures  of  old-fashioned  flowers  in  it. 
Do  you  care  for  old  gardens?" 

"Very  much,  though  it  is  a  long  time  since  I've 
been  in  one." 

"Have  you  heard  that  the  old  house  over  here  is 
to  have  a  new  tenant?" 

"No,  I  haven't  heard." 

Leaver  opened  the  gate  in  the  hedge  for  his 
companion,  looking  as  if  the  least  interesting 
thing  in  the  world  to  him  were  the  matter 
of  tenants  for  the  little  old  cottage  before  him. 
But  his  tone  was,  as  always,  courteously  interested. 

"I  was  so  sorry,  the  other  day,  that  it  happened 
you  didn't  meet  Mrs.  Burns's  friend,  such  an  interest 
ing  young  woman.  She  is  coming  here  to  open  a 
photographic  studio  in  this  old  house  —  as  an  ex 
periment." 

"A  professional  photographer?" 

"I  believe  not  —  as  yet.  She  would  still  call 
herself  an  amateur,  but  from  the  pictures  she  showed 
us  she  would  seem  an  expert.  I  never  saw  anything 
like  them.  Dr.  Burns  —  he  had  never  met  her  — 
was  very  much  taken  with  them,  especially  with 
one  of  the  little  old  lady,  her  grandmother,  whom 
she  is  to  bring  here. " 


UNDER  THE  APPLE  TREE  147 

They  strolled  along  the  moss-grown  path,  past 
the  house,  aside  into  the  garden,  its  tangle  of  flowers 
and  shrubbery  rich  with  neglected  bloom  and  sweet 
with  all  manner  of  scents  —  sweet-william,  larkspur, 
clove-pink.  Leaver,  stooping,  picked  a  spicy-smell 
ing,  fringe-bordered  pink,  and  sniffed  its  sun-warmed 
fragrance. 

"It  takes  me  back  to  my  boyhood,"  he  said, 
"when  I  used  to  think  a  visit  at  my  grandfather's 
old  country  place  the  greatest  thing  that  could 
happen  to  me.  There  was  a  big  bed  of  these  flowers 
under  my  window.  When  the  sun  was  hot  upon 
them  they  rivalled  the  spices  of  Araby." 

Miss  Mathewson  stood  looking  back  at  the  house. 
From  the  garden,  which  lay  at  the  side  and  behind 
it,  it  showed  all  of  its  forlornness  and  few  of  its 
possibilities. 

"What  will  she  make  of  living  there,  even  for 
the  year  she  means  to  stay?"  she  wondered,  aloud. 
"Now,  if  it  were  I,  it  wouldn't  seem  strange;  I  am 
used  to  living  in  a  little  old  house.  But  such  a  girl  as 
Miss  Ruston  —  I  can  hardly  imagine  her  here.  She 
thinks  the  house  and  the  old  garden  will  make  fine 
backgrounds  for  her  work.  I  suppose  they  will." 

"Miss  Ruston?"  Dr.  Leaver  repeated.  "Was 
that  the  name?" 

"Miss  Charlotte  Ruston,  of  South  Carolina,  I 
believe.  I  never  heard  the  name  before,  have  you?" 


i48  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

"It  is  an  unusual  one.  I  have  known  only  one 
person  of  that  name."  Leaver  walked  slowly  over 
to  a  decayed  and  tumbling  bench  beneath  an  apple- 
tree,  whose  boughs  had  been  so  long  untrimmed 
that  they  spread  almost  to  the  earth.  He  sat  down 
upon  it,  rather  heavily,  and  lifted  the  clove-pink 
to  his  nostrils  again.  His  dark  brows  contracted 
slightly.  He  looked  at  the  house.  "It  will  have 
to  have  a  good  deal  done  to  it  before  it  is  fit  for  any 
one,"  he  observed.  "You  said  there  was  an  old 
lady  to  come,  too?" 

"A  most  beautiful  little  old  lady,  whom  Miss 
Ruston  seemed  to  be  very  anxious  over,  lest  she 
suffer  any  harm.  Dr.  Burns,  when  he  heard  of 
it,  insisted  on  coming  over  here  to  make  sure  the 
house  could  be  made  perfectly  dry  and  comfortable 
for  her." 

"He  was  right.  Little  old  ladies  must  be  taken 
care  of,  and  young  women  are  apt  to  think  any 
place  that  is  picturesque  is  safe. " 

Miss  Mathewson,  seeing  him  apparently  more 
interested  in  the  subject  than  he  was  apt  to  be  in 
the  topics  she  brought  up  to  amuse  him,  except  as 
he  assumed  interest  for  her  sake,  went  on  with  this 
one,  and  told  him  all  she  knew  about  Miss  Ruston's 
plans,  ending  with  a  description  of  the  photographs 
she  had  shown. 

"But    I    should    like    to    see    one    of    herself," 


UNDER  THE  APPLE  TREE  149 

she  added.  "She  has  such  a  —  brilliant  face. 
I  can't  think  of  any  other  word  to  describe  it! 
When  she  looks  at  you  she  looks  as  if  she  —  cared 
so  much  to  see  what  you  were  like!"  She  laughed 
at  her  own  attempt  to  make  her  description  clear. 
"Not  as  if  she  were  curious,  you  know,  but  as  if 
she  were  interested  —  attracted.  Can  you  imagine 
the  expression?" 

Leaver  leaned  his  head  back  against  the  apple- 
tree  trunk,  and  closed  his  eyes.  The  spice-pink, 
still  held  at  his  nostrils,  shielded  his  lips.  He  looked 
rather  white,  his  nurse  noticed,  but  she  had  become 
accustomed  to  seeing  these  moments  come  upon 
him  —  they  passed  away  again,  and  Dr.  Burns  had 
said  that  no  notice  need  be  taken  of  them  unless  they 
were  long  in  passing.  In  spite  of  his  pallor,  he 
spoke  naturally  enough. 

"Yes,  I  have  seen  such  a  face.  But  many  women 
—  Southern  women,  especially  —  have  that  look 
of  being  absorbed  in  what  one  is  saying;  it  is  a  pretty 
trick  of  theirs.  Won't  you  sit  down,  too,  on  this 
old  bench?  It  is  so  warm  yet,  we  may  as  well  rest 
a  little  and  walk  when  it  is  dusk  and  cooler." 

She  sat  down  beside  him,  a  pleasant  picture  to 
look  at  in  her  white  lawn  in  which,  at  Ellen's  sug 
gestion,  she  now  made  of  herself,  in  the  afternoons, 
a  figure  less  severe  than  in  her  uniform.  She  had 
even  added  a  touch  of  turquoise  to  the  chaste  white- 


150  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

ness  of  the  dress,  a  colour  which  brought  out  the 
beauty  of  her  deep  blue  eyes  and  fair  cheeks  and 
even  lent  warmth  to  the  pale  hues  of  her  hair. 

"If  you  want  to  sit  here,  Dr.  Leaver,  I  might 
run  across  and  bring  the  book  we  are  reading. 
Would  you  like  to  hear  a  chapter?" 

"Thank  you,  not  to-night.  It's  a  great  book, 
and  stirs  the  blood  with  its  attempt  to  tell  the  story 
of  a  war  whose  real  story  can  never  be  told  by  any 
one,  no  matter  what  skill  the  historian  brings  to  the 
telling.  But  I'm  not  in  the  mood  for  it  to-night. 
I  wonder  if,  instead,  you  won't  tell  me  a  bit  about 
yourself.  You've  never  said  a  word  about  the 
work  you  do  with  my  friend,  Dr.  Burns.  Do  you 
like  it?" 

She  hesitated.  Was  this  a  safe  subject,  she 
wondered,  for  a  surgeon  who,  she  understood,  had 
broken  down  from  overwork?  But  the  question 
had  been  asked. 

"Very  much,"  she  answered,  quietly.  "One 
could  hardly  help  liking  work  under  Dr.  Burns. " 

"Why?     Do  you  think  him  a  fine  operator?" 

"Very  fine.  He  is  considered  the  best  in  the  city, 
now,  I  believe,  even  though  his  office  is  out  here 
in  the  village.  Of  course  it  is  not  a  great  city,  but 
his  reputation  extends  out  into  the  towns  around." 

"He  is  an  enthusiast  in  his  profession,  I  know. 
And  you  are  one  in  yours,  I  see. " 


UNDER  THE  APPLE  TREE  151 

"Do  you  see  it,  Dr.  Leaver?  I  thought  I  spoke 
quite  moderately." 

"So  moderately  that  I  recognized  the  restraint. 
You  assist  Dr.  Burns  whenever  he  opera tes?" 

"Yes  —  if  I  am  free. " 

"He  can't  have  been  doing  much  lately,  then." 

She  glanced  at  him.  He  was  still  leaning  back 
against  the  apple-tree  trunk,  but  his  eyes  were 
open  and  regarding  her  rather  closely.  They  were 
eyes  whose  powers  of  discernment,  as  Burns  had 
said,  one  could  not  hope  easily  to  elude. 

"He  is  so  interested  in  your  recovery,  Dr. 
Leaver,  that  he  is  willing,  anxious,  to  spare  me. 
There  are  other  capable  assistants,  plenty  of  them." 

"But  none  trained  to  his  hand,  as  you  are  trained." 

In  spite  of  herself,  the  quick  colour  rose  in  a  wave 
and  bathed  her  face  in  its  tell-tale  glow.  He  smiled. 

"1  see.  It's  worth  everything  to  an  operator 
to  have  a  right-hand  man  —  or  woman  —  like  that. 
One  doesn't  often  find  a  woman  capable  of  taking 
the  part,  but,  when  one  is,  she  is  like  a  second  brain 
to  the  operator.  Well,  I'll  soon  release  you.  I  don't 
need  to  be  coddled  now,  though  it's  very  pleasant. 
I  shall  remember  these  walks  and  talks  and  hours 
with  books.  If  one  must  be  disabled,  it's  much 
to  be  looked  after  by  one  who  seems  a  friend. " 

"But  —  Dr  Leaver! "  She  spoke  in  some 

alarm.  "You  mustn't  talk  of  dismissing  me 


1 52  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

like  this  —  unless  you  are  dissatisfied  with  me. 
I  know  Dr.  Burns  is  taking  great  satisfaction  in 
having  me  give  my  time  to  you.  If  I  am  helping 
you  at  all " 

"You  are.  But  —  I  must  help  myself.  .  .  . 
Never  mind."  He  closed  his  eyes  again.  "Tell 
me  about  yourself  —  as  Dr.  Burns's  assistant.  Do 
you  enjoy  making  things  ready  for  him?" 

She  saw  that  he  would  have  it,  so  she  answered. 
"Yes,  I  suppose  I  take  pride  in  having  everything 
as  he  will  want  it.  I  know  quite  well  what  he  wants, 
by  this  time. " 

"Yes.  And  he  can  depend  on  you.  When  the 
time  comes  for  the  start,  you  have  yourself  well 
in  hand?  No  quick  pulse  —  short  breath?" 

"Why,  it  would  not  be  possible,  I  suppose,  to  be 
so  self-controlled  as  that.  Even  Dr.  Burns  is 
not.  He  has  told  me,  more  than  once,  that  his  heart 
is  pounding  like  an  engine  when  he  goes  into  an 
operation,  or  when  he  faces  an  unexpected  emer 
gency,  in  the  course  of  it. " 

"Ah!  ...  But  it  doesn't  affect  his  work  — 
or  yours  —  this  racing  of  the  engine?" 

"One  forgets  it,  I  think,  when  one  is  once  at 
work.  Dr.  Leaver,  look  at  that  squirrel!  Out  on 
the  roof  of  the  house  —  at  the  back.  Do  you  see 
him  peering  over  at  us  ?  Inquisitive  little  creature ! " 

"Like    myself.     Yes,    I    see    his    small    majesty. 


UNDER  THE  APPLE  TREE  153 

Well,  tell  me,  please,  why  you  like  the  work  so  much? 
You  wouldn't  give  it  up?" 

She  drew  a  quick  breath.     "Oh,  no!" 

"And  the  reason  why  you  like  it  —  am  I  too 
curious?  Do  you  mind  telling  me?" 

"Why,  not  at  all.  I  can  —  hardly  tell  you, 
though,  what  it  is  that  makes  me  like  it.  Of  course, 
I'm  happy  to  have  a  hand,  even  though  it's  only  an 
assistant's  hand,  in  saving  life.  But  —  the  life 
isn't  always  saved.  I  suppose,  the  real  secret  of  it 
is  one  likes  to  be  doing  the  thing  one  can  do  best." 

"That's  it!"  He  drew  a  heavy  breath.  "The 
thing  one  can  do  best.  And  when  that  thing  is 
the  setting  poor,  disabled  human  machinery 
straight  —  making  it  run  smoothly  again!  One 
can  hardly  imagine  turning  one's  hand  to  —  book 
binding,  making  things  in  brass,  dressing  dolls,  to 
take  up  one's  time,  occupy  one's  mind,  keep  one's 
hands  busy,  after  having  known  the  practice  of 
a  profession  like  that!" 

He  got  up  from  the  bench  and  strode  a  few  paces 
with  a  quick,  impatient  step,  such  as  she  had  never 
seen  him  take.  Then,  wheeling  suddenly,  he  came 
back  to  the  bench  and  dropped  upon  it,  breathing 
short.  She  had  instantly  to  his  support  a  small 
bottle  of  strong  salts  which  she  always  carried,  but 
for  a  moment  she  feared  that  this  might  not  be 
stimulant  enough  to  a  heart  still  inclined  to  be 


154  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

erratic  upon  small  provocation.  She  laid  anxious 
fingers  upon  his  pulse,  but  found  it  already  steadying. 

"This  will  be  over  in  a  minute,"  she  said  quietly. 
"Soon,  you  will  have  got  above  such  bothersome 
minutes.  I  shouldn't  have  let  you  talk  about  a 
thing  which  means  so  much  to  you." 

"No,  I  can't  even  talk  about  it,"  he  said.  "I'm 
as  much  of  an  infernal  hypochondriac  as  that.  I  beg 
your  pardon "  and  he  set  his  lips. 

They  sat  in  silence  for  a  little.  Then,  suddenly 
a  voice  hailed  them  —  a  cheerful,  familiar  voice. 

'" Under  the  spreading  chestnut-tree?'  Or  is  it 
an  apple?  May  I  join  the  party?" 

Redfield  Pepper  Burns  appeared,  looking  like 
a  schoolboy  lately  released  from  imprisonment. 
But  his  face  sobered  somewhat  as  his  eye  fell  upon 
his  friend.  It  was  not  that  John  Leaver  had  not 
looked  up  with  a  smile,  as  Burns  approached,  nor 
was  it  that  he  now  showed  physical  distress  of  any 
significant  sort.  A  certain  hard  expression  of  the 
deep-set  eye  told  the  story  to  one  who  could  read 
signs. 

"There's  a  caller  for  you  at  the  house,  Miss 
Mathewson,"  said  Burns. 

As  she  went  away  he  dropped  down  upon  the  grass 
near  Leaver.  "It's  at  least  five  degrees  cooler 
under  this  tree,"  said  he,  "than  in  any  outdoor 
spot  I've  found  yet. " 


UNDER  THE  APPLE  TREE  155 

"Work  must  have  been  trying  today." 

"Rather.  But  so  much  worse  for  my  patients 
that  I  haven't  thought  much  about  it  for  myself. 
At  two  places  I  had  the  satisfaction  of  personally 
seeing  to  the  moving  of  the  invalid  from  a  little 
six-by-nine  inferno  of  a  bedroom  to  a  big  and  airy 
sitting-room.  It  gave  me  the  keenest  pleasure  to 
see  it  hurt  the  tidy  housewife,  who  didn't  want  her 
best  room  mussed  up."  He  chuckled.  "In  one 
case  I  made  her  take  down  the  stuffy  lace  window- 
curtains  and  open  things  up  in  great  shape.  She 
came  near  having  a  convulsion  on  the  spot.  Curious 
how  a  certain  type  of  mind  regards  any  little  innova 
tion  like  that.  That  woman  would  have  let  her 
unlucky  husband  smother  to  death  in  that  oven 
before  it  would  have  occurred  to  her  to  move  him 
out  of  it.' 

"I  rather  wonder  at  your  continuing  to  practise 
in  a  village  like  this,  with  that  sort  of  people,  when 
you  have  so  much  city  work,  and  could  do  a  large 
business  with  a  city  office." 

Burns  stretched  out  an  arm,  thrusting  his  hand 
deep  into  the  long  grass.  "That  sort  —  narrow- 
minded  people  —  aren't  all  found  in  the  country, 
though  —  not  by  a  long  shot.  I've  sometimes 
thought  I'd  take  an  office  in  town,  but,  when  it  comes 
to  making  the  move,  I  can't  bring  myself  to  it. 
You  see,  I  happen  to  like  it  out  here,  and  I  like  the 


156  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

village  work.  This  way  I  get  both  sorts.  I  don't 
know  why  one's  ambition  should  be  all  for  city 
work.  The  people  out  here  need  me  just  as  much 
as  those  where  the  streets  are  paved.  There's  a 
heap  more  fresh  air  and  sunshine  and  liberty  here 
than  in  town.  And,  as  for  being  busy,  there  are  only 
twenty-four  hours  in  the  day,  anywhere." 

"And  you  fill  the  most  of  those  full.  So  you  do. 
Yet,  I  should  think  your  love  for  surgery  would 
lead  you  to  take  up  an  exclusive  surgical  practice. 
You  could  make  a  name.  You  have  a  good-sized 
reputation  already,  with  your  ability  you  could 
make  it  a  great  one. " 

Burns  looked  at  Leaver.  The  two  men  regarded 
each  other  with  a  sudden  fresh  interest,  a  sudden 
wonder  as  to  the  operation  of  each  other's  minds. 
The  man  on  the  bench,  broken  down  by  just  such 
a  life  as  he  recommended  to  his  friend,  looked  at 
the  man  on  the  grass,  unworn  and  vigorous,  and 
questioned  whether,  with  all  his  virtues,  Burns  were 
really  possessed  of  the  proper  ambition.  The  man 
on  the  grass,  aware  of  large  interests  in  his  busy 
life,  looked  at  the  man  on  the  bench,  whose  interests 
were  at  present  wholly  concerned  with  recovering 
his  health,  and  wondered  what  insanity  it  was  which 
bound  his  fellow  mortal's  brain  that  he  could  not  see 
things  in  their  right  values.  There  was  a  long  min 
ute's  silence.  Then  Burns,  lying  at  full  length  upon 


UNDER  THE  APPLE  TREE  157 

his  side  in  the  warm  grass,  his  head  propped  upon 
his  elbow,  began,  in  a  thoughtful  tone: 

"Ever  since  a  period  early  in  our  acquaint 
ance  my  wife  and  I  have  had  a  vision  before  us. 
It  was  one  that,  curiously  enough,  we  both  had 
separately  first,  and  then  discovered,  by  accident, 
that  it  was  mutual.  The  time  has  come  when  we 
are  to  carry  it  out.  My  wife  has  bought  an  old 
place,  in  the  real  country,  three  miles  out  on  a  road 
that  turns  of?  from  the  main  road  to  the  city.  She 
is  going  to  fit  it  up  for  a  hospital  for  crippled  children, 
curables,  mostly,  though  her  heart  may  lead  her 
into  keeping  a  few  of  the  other  sort,  if  there  is  no 
other  home  for  them  to  go  to.  I'm  to  have  the 
distinguished  honour  of  being  surgeon  to  the  place." 

He  made  this  final  announcement  in  the  tone  in 
which  he  might  have  made  it  if  it  had  been  that  of 
an  appointment  to  the  greatest  position  the  country 
could  have  given  him. 

"Well,"  said  Leaver,  after  a  moment,  his  weary 
eyes  still  studying  Burns's  face,  "that  is  a  fine  thing 
for  you  two  to  do.  I  can  see  that  such  an  interest 
might  well  hold  a  man  away  from  an  ordinary  city 
practice.  There  is  no  children's  hospital  near  here, 
then?" 

"None  at  all.  Children's  wards,  of  course,  but 
nothing  like  what  ought  to  be.  Of  course  we  can't 
take  care  of  the  surplus.  It  will  be  only  special 


1 58  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

cases,  here  and  there,  that  we  shall  try  to  handle. 
But  I'm  meeting  with  those  every  day  —  cases 
where  the  country  air  and  the  country  fare  are 
almost  as  much  a  part  of  the  cure  as  the  surgical 
interference.  My  word !  but  it  will  be  a  satisfaction 
to  bundle  the  poor  little  chaps  off  to  our  farm!" 

His  eyes  were  very  bright.  He  lay  smiling  to 
himself  for  a  minute,  then  he  sat  up. 

"In  a  month,"  said  he,  "we  shall  be  ready  for 
business.  I  have  four  little  patients  waiting  now 
for  the  place.  On  three  of  them  I'm  going  to 
operate  at  once.  On  the  fourth  —  you  are. " 

Again  the  two  pairs  of  eyes  met  —  hazel  eyes 
confident  and  determined,  brown  eyes  startled, 
stabbed  with  sudden  pain.  Burns  held  up  his 
hand. 

"Don't  say  a  word,"  he  commanded.  "I'm 
merely  making  an  assertion.  I'm  willing  to  back  it 
up  by  argument,  if  you  like,  though  I'd  rather  not. 
In  fact,  I'd  much  rather  not.  I  prefer  simply  to 
make  the  assertion,  and  let  it  sink  in." 

But  Leaver  would  speak.  "You  forget,"  he  said, 
bitterly,  "that  I've  put  all  that  behind  me.  I  told 
you  I  should  never  operate  again.  I  meant  it." 

"Yes,  you  meant  it,"  said  Burns  comfortably. 
"A  man  means  it  when  he  swears  he'll  never  do 
again  something  that  has  become  second  nature 
to  him  to  do.  He'll  do  it  —  he's  made  that  way. 


UNDER  THE  APPLE  TREE  159 

You  will  do  this  thing,  and  do  it  with  all  your  old 
grip  and  skill.  But  I'm  not  going  to  discuss  it  with 
you.  Some  day,  if  you  are  good,  I'll  describe  the  case 
to  you.  It's  one  you  can  handle  better  than  I,  and 
it's  going  to  be  up  to  you. " 

He  got  to  his  feet,  ignoring  the  slow  shaking  of 
Leaver's  downbent  head.  "By  the  way,"  he  said, 
with  a  glance  at  the  cottage,  now  a  mere  blur  in  the 
oncoming  twilight,  "have  you  heard  of  the  young 
photographer  who  is  to  sweep  down  upon  us  and 
make  wonderful,  dream-like  images  of  us  all,  for 
good  hard  cash  and  fame?  A  friend  of  my  wife's: 
a  girl  who  looks  twenty-five,  but  is  a  bit  more,  I  am 
told.  A  remarkably  good-looking,  not  to  say 
fascinating,  person  with  a  grandmother  still  more 
fascinating  —  at  least  to  me.  They  are  to  come  as 
soon  as  this  rookery  can  be  made  habitable. " 

"Miss  Mathewson  spoke  of  it.  It  will  be  an 
interesting  event  to  the  village,  I  should  suppose. 
But  I  shall  not  be  among  the  victims  of  the  lady's 
art.  I  may  as  well  tell  you,  Red  —  I  must  get  away 
next  week. " 

Burns  wheeled  upon  him.  "What's  that  you  say  ?" 

The  other  proceeded  with  evident  effort,  laying 
his  head  back  against  the  tree-trunk  again.  "I  am 
as  grateful  to  you  and  Mrs.  Burns  as  a  man  can 
possibly  be,  so  grateful  that  I  can't  put  it  into 
words " 


160  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

"Don't  try.  Go  on  to  something  more  impor 
tant." 

"I  have  trespassed  on  your  hospitality " 

"Don't  use  hackneyed  phrases  like  that.  Say 
something  original. " 

— "  as  long  as  I  can  be  willing  to  do  it.  I  am  as 
much  improved  as  I  can  expect  to  be  —  for  a  long 
time.  I  can't  hang  on,  a  useless  invalid  on  your 
hands " 

"Cut  it,  old  man!  You're  not  an  invalid,  and 
you're  not  useless.  You're  giving  me  one  of  the 
most  interesting  studies  I've  engaged  in  in  a  long 
time.  I'm  liable  to  write  a  book  on  you,  when  I 
get  sufficient  data. " 

Leaver  smiled  faintly.  "Nevertheless,  I  can't 
do  it,  Red.  You  wouldn't  do  it  in  my  place.  Be 
honest  — •  would  you  ? " 

"Probably  not.  I'd  be  just  pig-headed  fool 
enough  to  argue  the  case  to  myself  precisely  as  you 
are  doing.  Well,  Jack,  I've  expected  this  hour.  It's 
a  pity  there  isn't  more  faith  and  trust  in  friendship 
in  the  world.  We're  all  deadly  afraid  of  trying  our 
friends  too  far,  so  after  just  about  so  long  we  strike 
out  for  ourselves.  But  since  it  is  as  it  is,  and  you're 
growing  restless,  I'll  agree  that  you  leave  us,  if  you  '11 
stay  for  a  while  where  you'll  be  under  my  observa 
tion.  I've  set  my  heart  on  making  a  complete  cure 
in  this  case  —  or,  rather,  you  understand,  assisting 


UNDER  THE  APPLE  TREE  161 

Nature  to  do  so.  If  you  go  off  somewhere  I  shall 
lose  track  of  you.  Suppose  you  stay  in  the  village 
here  for  a  while  longer.  I  know  a  splendid  place  for 
you,  just  round  the  corner.  Quiet,  pleasant  home, 
middle-aged  widow  and  her  young  son  —  a  lady, 
and  a  sensible,  cheerful  one  —  she'll  never  bore  you 
by  talk  unless  you  feel  like  it  —  and  then  the  talk 
will  be  worth  while.  What  do  you  say?  You 
know  perfectly  well  that  you're  not  yet  quite  fit 
to  shift  for  yourself.  Be  rational,  and  let  me  manage 
things  for  you  a  while  longer." 

Leaver  stood  up;  in  the  dim  light  Burns  could  not 
see  his  face.  But  he  heard  his  voice  —  one  which 
showed  tension. 

"You  don't  know  what  you're  asking,  old  friend. 
There  are  reasons  why  I  feel  like  getting  away, 
entirely  apart  from  any  conditions  under  your 
control.  Yet  since  you  ask  it  of  me,  and  I  owe  you 
so  much,  and  since  —  I  suppose  it  doesn't  really 
make  much  difference  where  I  am  —  I'll  stay  for 
the  present." 

"  Good !     I'm  much  obliged,  Jack. " 

Burns  got  up,  also,  and  the  two  strolled  away 
together,  in  the  pleasant  summer  dusk. 


CHAPTER  IX 

A    PRACTICAL   ARTIST 

HERE  I  am!  And  the  goods  are  here  too.  Isn't 
it  a  miracle?  It  could  never  have  been  done 
if  I  hadn't  found  a  kind  friend  among  the  railroad 
men,  who  sent  my  things  by  fast  freight.  Now  to 
settle  in  a  whirlwind  of  a  hurry  and  fly  back  for 
Granny." 

These  were  Miss  Charlotte  Ruston's  words  of 
greeting  as  she  shook  hands  with  the  occupants  of 
the  Macauley  car,  which  had  met  her  at  the  station 
on  the  last  day  of  July.  She  looked  as  fresh  and 
eager  to  carry  out  her  plans  as  if  she  were  not  just 
at  the  end  of  a  journey. 

"I  suppose  you'll  stop  for  luncheon  first,"  Martha 
Macauley  suggested.  She  noted,  with  the  approval 
of  the  suburbanite  who  cares  much  to  be  well  dressed, 
the  quietly  smart  attire  of  the  arriving  traveller. 

"Indeed  I  will.  Fuel  first,  fire  afterward.  But 
I'm  fairly  burning  to  begin,  July  weather  though 
it  is.  How  are  my  hollyhocks?  A  splendid  row? 
I've  dreamed  of  those  hollyhocks!" 

"They  are  all  there  —  as  well  as  one  can  see  them 

162 


A  PRACTICAL  ARTIST  163 

above  the  weeds.  We  would  have  had  the  grass 
cut  for  you,  but  didn't  venture  to  touch  so  much 
as  a  spear,  lest  we  destroy  some  picturesque  effect, " 
Ellen  said,  giving  her  friend's  hand  an  affectionate 
grasp  as  Charlotte  took  her  place  beside  her. 

"I  do  want  to  see  to  it  all  for  myself.  I've  had 
the  greatest  difficulty  in  waiting  these  four  weeks, 
or  should  have  had  if  I  hadn't  been  so  busy.  But 
now  that  I'm  here  I'll  show  you  how  to  make  a 
home  out  of  four  chairs,  three  rugs,  a  table,  a  mirror, 
and  an  adorable  copper  bowl.  Talk  of  the  simple  life 
—  you're  going  to  see  it  lived  just  across  the  street, 
you  matrons  with  innumerable  things  to  dust!" 

"We  shall  be  delighted  to  watch  you  do  it," 
Ellen  assured  her,  and  Martha  gave  an  incredulous 
assent. 

It  was  but  a  few  hours  before  they  saw  the 
prophecy  coming  true.  Miss  Ruston  barely  took 
time  for  luncheon,  and  by  the  time  the  dray  con 
taining  her  modest  supply  of  household  goods  was 
at  her  door  she  was  ready  for  work.  A  blue  painter's 
blouse  slipped  over  her  travelling  dress,  her  sleeves 
rolled  well  up  her  shapely  arms,  she  had  plunged 
into  the  labour  of  settling.  She  had  for  an  assistant 
a  woman  whom  Ellen  had  engaged  for  her,  and  a 
tall  youth  who  was  the  woman's  son,  and  these  two 
she  managed  with  a  generalship  little  short  of  genius. 

The  floors  had  been  cleaned  and  stained  with  a 


164  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

simple  dull-brown  stain  a  week  before,  and  Miss 
Ruston  eyed  them  with  satisfaction,  uneven  though 
they  were.  She  set  the  lad  at  work  oiling  them, 
demonstrating  to  him  with  her  own  hands,  carefully 
gloved,  the  way  to  do  it.  Every  window  she  flung 
wide,  and  Mrs.  Kelsey  was  presently  scrubbing 
away  at  the  dim,  small  panes,  trying  her  best  to 
make  them  shine  to  please  the  young  lady  who 
from  time  to  time  stopped  as  she  flew  by  to  comment 
on  her  work. 

"That's  it,  Mrs.  Kelsey,  you  know  how,  don't 
you?  I  haven't  much  in  the  way  of  hangings  for 
them,  so  we  must  have  them  bright  as  mirrors. 
Hard  to  get  into  the  corners?  Yes,  I  know.  But 
it's  somehow  the  corners  that  show  most.  Try 
this  hairpin  under  your  cloth," — she  slipped  one 
out  from  her  heavy  locks  —  "you  can  get  into  the 
corners  with  that,  I'm  sure.  Tom,  there's  a  spot 
as  big  as  a  plate  you  haven't  hit.  You  can't  see  it 
in  that  light;  bend  over  this  way  a  minute,  and 
you'll  find  it.  That's  it!  It  would  have  been  a 
pity  to  leave  it,  wouldn't  it!  Don't  miss  any  more 
places,  Tom.  I  haven't  many  rugs,  and  the  floors 
will  show  a  good  deal. " 

"I  didn't  know  artists  were  ever  such  practical 
people,"  confessed  Mrs.  Red  Pepper  Burns,  sitting 
on  the  edge  of  a  straight-backed  old  chair  in  the 
small  kitchen.  The  house  boasted  but  four  rooms, 


A  PRACTICAL  ARTIST  165 

two  below  and  two  above,  with  a  small  enclosure  off 
the  kitchen  which  had  been  used  for  a  bedroom  in 
the  benighted  days  when  people  knew  no  better, 
and  which  Charlotte  had  promptly  set  aside  for 
a  dark  room. 

"Practical?  Fm  not  an  artist,  as  you  use  the 
word,  but  I  assure  you  real  artists  are  the  most 
practical  people  in  the  world.  Not  one  of  them  but 
can  make  a  whistle  out  of  a  pig's  tail,  or  a  queen's 
robe  out  of  a  sheet  and  a  blue  scarf!  What  do  you 
think  of  my  light-housekeeping  outfit?" 

She  held  up  an  aluminum  skillet  which  she  had 
just  taken  from  the  box  she  was  unpacking.  " Here's 
everything  we  can  need  in  the  way  of  cooking 
utensils,  packed  into  a  foot  square,  and  light  as  a 
feather,  the  whole  thing.  My  purse  was  rather 
light  when  I  had  bought  it,  too."  She  made  a 
funny  little  grimace,  then  laughed.  "But  my 
most  trying  purchase  was  my  tin  bath!  You 
can't  imagine  what  a  hunt  I  had  for  it.  But  I 
found  it  at  last  in  an  Englishman's  little  out-of-the- 
way  shop,  and  a  big  tin  ewer  to  go  with  it.  I'm 
proud  of  them  now,  and  emptying  the  tub  once  a 
day  is  going  to  be  fine  for  my  muscles. " 

"You  have  splendid  courage,  dear,  and  I  can  see 
you're  not  afraid  of  hard  work.  I  want  you  to 
promise  me  this,  though,  Charlotte.  When  you  are 
specially  tired,  and  there's  luncheon  or  dinner  to 


i66  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

get,  run  over  and  let  us  give  you  a  trayful  of  things. 
Cynthia  always  cooks  more  than  we  eat,  and  then 
has  to  contrive  to  use  it  in  other  ways. " 

Charlotte  nodded.  "Thank  you.  Luckily,  though 
I'm  poor  I'm  not  proud.  By  the  way,  you  haven't 
an  unused  kitchen  chair,  have  you?  To  tell  the 
truth  I  forgot  several  things,  and  one  of  them  is  a 
chair  for  the  kitchen.  I  probably  shall  not  sit  down 
myself,  and  shall  always  serve  our  little  meals  in  the 
living-room,  but  I  foresee  that  I  shall  have  guests 
here  in  the  kitchen,  and  I'd  like  to  be  able  to  offer 
them  a  chair.  That  one  you're  sitting  in  is  my  very 
best  old  split-bottomed,  high-backed  photographer's 
treasure,  which  must  go  in  the  front  room  by  the 
fireplace." 

"When  you  are  through  explaining  I  will  assure 
you  that  two  kitchen  chairs  will  arrive  as  soon  as 
I  go  home,"  promised  Ellen. 

"Bless  you!  I  foresee  that  you  will  make  a 
splendid  neighbour.  Do  you  want  to  climb  upstairs 
and  see  the  nest  I'm  going  to  feather  for  Granny?" 

She  turned  to  the  narrow  little  staircase  between 
the  walls,  and  gayly  led  the  way.  But  Ellen  ex 
claimed  in  dismay  over  the  steepness  of  the  stairs. 

"Charlotte!  Do  you  think  dear  little  old  Madam 
Chase  can  climb  these?  They  are  the  steepest  I 
ever  saw!" 

"She  won't  need  to.     Private  lift,  always  ready." 


A  PRACTICAL  ARTIST  167 

"What  do  you  mean?     Surely  not " 

Charlotte  extended  two  round,  supple  arms. 
"Why  not?  Granny  weighs  just  eighty  pounds  — 
if  she  is  wearing  plenty  of  clothes.  In  her  little 
nightie  and  lavender  kimono  considerably  less. 
And  I'm  strong  as  strong." 

"But  even  then  she's  more  than  you  ought  to 
carry  up  and  down  this  ladder." 

Charlotte  turned  at  the  top  of  the  stairs,  and 
laughed  back  at  her  friend.  "Granny's  a  sports 
woman,"  said  she.  "She  will  —  whisper  it!  — 
thoroughly  enjoy  sliding  down  these  stairs,  and,  as 
for  my  carrying  her  up  them,  haven't  you  yet  found 
out  that  a  weight  you  love  devotedly  is  just  no  weight 
at  all?  Now,  look  here!  Aren't  these  bits  of 

rooms  fascinating?  Hot,  just  now,  I  admit " 

She  ran  to  the  windows,  wrenched  them  open  and 
propped  them  up.  "Too  hot  in  July,  certainly; 
we'll  camp  downstairs  while  this  weather  lasts. 
But  fine  and  warm  and  sunny  through  the  winter. 
A  bit  of  an  oilstove  will  make  Granny  as  snug  as 
a  kitten,  and  her  maid  Charlotte  will  see  that  she's 
never  left  alone  with  it  burning. " 

"I  see  you're  quite  invincible  in  your  determina 
tion  to  make  the  best  of  everything.  I  can  hardly 
believe  you  are  the  same  girl  I  used  to  know,  brought 
up  to  be  waited  on  and  petted  by  everybody. 
You've  developed  splendidly,  and  I'm  proud  of  you." 


1 68  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

"Thank  you,  Len.  No,  Pm  not  the  same  girl 
at  all.  I've  been  having  to  depend  upon  my  own  * 
management  for  four  years  now  —  long  enough  to 
learn  a  good  many  makeshifts.  It's  been  rather  a 
pull,  but  I've  had  Granny  through  it  all,  and  as  long 
as  she's  left  to  me  I  won't  complain.  I  used  to  be 
an  extravagant  person,  but  you've  no  idea  how  I've 
learned  to  make  money  last.  Don't  stay  up  here, 
it's  too  hot  for  you.  But  I'll  get  the  place  in  order, 
for  it  may  be  cooler  by  the  time  I  bring  Granny,  so 
we  can  sleep  here. " 

"I'll  help.     What  comes  first?" 

"Nothing  —  for  you.  I'll  run  up  and  down  with 
rugs  and  curtains,  —  really,  they're  about  all  there 
are  to  go  up  here,  except  Granny's  dressing-table. 
I've  saved  that  for  her,  and  a  little  old  single  bed 
she  likes.  I'll  have  Tom  bring  them  up. " 

But  Ellen  insisted  on  helping,  and  when  the  bed 
was  in  place  made  it  up  with  the  fine  old  linen 
Charlotte  produced,  exclaiming  over  its  handsome 
monograms,  of  an  antique  pattern  much  admired 
in  these  days. 

"But  where  is  your  bed,  Charlotte?  I  want  to 
get  that  ready,  too,  "she  urged,  when  various  small 
tasks  were  completed. 

"Oh,  never  mind  about  mine.  I'll  see  to  that 
later."  Charlotte  was  rubbing  away  at  an  old 
brass  candlestick  upon  the  dressing-table. 


A  PRACTICAL  ARTIST  169 

"I  didn't  see  another  bed.  Surely  you  can't  both 
sleep  in  this  ? " 

"Hardly  —  poor  Granny!  No;  mine  is  a  folding 
cot,  the  nicest  thing!" 

"And  youVe  no  furniture  at  all  for  your  room?" 

"Don't  want  it.  Granny  will  let  me  peep  in  her 
mirror.  Don't  look  so  shocked,  Len.  We're  just 
camping  out  for  a  year,  you  know,  and  I  brought 
all  we  needed.  What's  the  use  of  being  encumbered 
with  household  goods?" 

"But  you  have  them,  somewhere?  Let  me  send 
for  them,  dear,  please.  If  you  are  to  stay  all  winter 
you  must  be  comfortable. " 

"We  shall  be.  And  —  I  haven't  any  more  things, 
if  you  must  have  it.  When  the  estate  was  sold 
I  bought  in  all  I  could  afford,  but  have  sold  some 
since.  You  may  as  well  know  it,  but  I  want  you 
to  understand  that  I  don't  consider  it  a  hardship 
at  all  to  live  as  I  intend  to  live  this  year.  I  shall 
be  making  money  hand  over  fist,  presently,  and  by 
the  time  I  have  had  my  city  studio  a  year  or  two 
shall  be  affording  Eastern  rugs  and  hand-carved 
furniture.  Wait  and  see!" 

She  stopped  polishing  and  stood  looking  at  her 
friend  with  the  peculiar,  radiant  look  which  was  her 
greatest  charm,  her  dark  eyes  glowing,  her  lips  in 
proud,  sweet  lines  of  resolution,  her  round  chin 
held  high.  Then  she  laughed,  throwing  her  head 


1 70  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

higher  yet,  with  a  gay  spirit;  came  forward  and 
caught  Ellen  Burns  by  the  shoulders  and  bending 
kissed  her. 

"I  told  you  I  wasn't  proud, ".she  said,  "but  I  am! 
Too  proud  to  be  proud  !  I  never  believed  in  the  pride 
which  covers  up,  but  in  that  which  frankly  owns  its 
poverty,  and  laughs  at  it.  I  laugh!" 

"You  splendid  girl!     Where  did  you  get  it?" 

"Picked  it  up.  But  I  really  think  I  shall  have 
the  happiest  year  out  of  this  I've  known  yet. " 

"I  believe  you  will.  And  I  shall  delight  in  having 
you  so  near. " 

The  two  descended.  By  the  time  Mrs.  Kelsey's 
work-day  was  over  the  front  room  was  in  order,  and 
Charlotte,  bidding  good-night  to  her  servitors,  gave 
them  hearty  praise  and  bade  them  come  back  early 
in  the  morning.  Ellen  had  gone  home,  bidding 
Charlotte  follow  her  at  convenience. 

"I  must  run  out  and  pick  some  flowers  for  my 
copper  bowl,"  Charlotte  had  said.  "Then  the  room 
will  be  ready  to  show  your  husband  this  evening. 
I'm  anxious  to  have  it  make  a  good  impression  on 
him,  and  I've  discovered  that  men  always  notice 
posies." 

So,  out  in  the  tangled  garden  she  chose  a  great 
bunch  of  delphinium,  in  mingled  shadings  from  pale 
blues  and  lavenders  to  deepest  sapphire  tones,  and 
bringing  it  in  exultingly  filled  the  copper  bowl 


A  PRACTICAL  ARTIST  171 

and  set  it  on  the  old  spindle-legged  table  opposite 
the  fireplace.  Woven  rag  rugs  in  dull  blues  lay 
on  the  floor;  one  great  winged  chair,  Granny's  chair, 
stood  by  the  window.  Besides  this  were  the  splint- 
bottomed,  high-backed  chair,  two  Sheraton  chairs, 
and  a  Chippendale  mirror, —  all  relics  of  a  luxurious 
old  home.  Two  small  portraits  in  oil  hung  upon  the 
wall,  painted  by  some  master  hand,  portraits  of 
Charlotte's  parents.  This  was  all  the  furnishing  the 
room  contained,  but  somehow,  in  the  warm  light  of 
the  late  July  afternoon,  it  looked  anything  but  bare. 

The  Chesters,  the  Macauleys  and  the  Burnses,  all 
came  across  the  street  in  the  early  July  evening, 
to  view  the  work  which  had  been  done.  Charlotte 
had  slipped  on  a  thin  white  gown  and  pinned  a 
bunch  of  old-fashioned  crimson-and-pink  "bleeding- 
hearts"  at  her  waist,  to  do  the  occasion  honour. 
She  looked,  somehow,  already  as  if  she  belonged 
with  the  place.  She  sat  upon  the  doorstone  and 
hemmed  small  muslin  curtains  which  were  to  go 
in  the  bedrooms  upstairs,  and  Martha,  Winifred, 
and  Ellen,  seeing  this,  sent  for  their  sewing  materials 
and  helped  her,  while  the  daylight  lasted. 

Burns,  looking  on,  hands  in  pockets,  suddenly 
observed,  "We  fellows  ought  to  be  doing  something 
for  her.  What  do  you  say  to  every  man  going  for 
a  scythe  and  cutting  the  grass?  No  lawn  mower 
can  tackle  a  tangle  like  this." 


1 72  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

Macauley  groaned.  "Why  begin  to  be  neigh 
bourly  at  such  a  pace?  Cutting  this  grass  is  going 
to  be  no  easy  task." 

But  Chester  and  Burns  had  already  started 
across  the  street,  and  Macauley  was  obliged  to 
follow.  By  the  time  darkness  fell  the  front  yard 
had  been  cropped  into  at  least  a  semblance  of 
tidiness,  and  Charlotte  was  offering  her  thanks  to 
three  warm  gentlemen,  and  regretting  that  she  had 
not  been  keeping  house  long  enough  to  have  any 
refreshment  to  offer  them. 

"Come  over  when  we  are  settled,  and  Granny 
and  I  will  have  some  sparkling  Southern  beverages 
for  you, "  she  promised. 

"You  are  coming  over  to  sleep,  child,"  Ellen 
said,  as  the  time  for  departure  arrived,  and  Char 
lotte  showed  signs  of  closing  up  her  small 
domain. 

"Not  at  all.  I  mean  to  have  the  fun  of  spending 
my  first  night  in  my  new  home,"  Miss  Ruston 
declared,  and  held  to  her  decision,  in  spite  of 
the  arguments  and  entreaties  of  the  women  and 
the  assertions  of  the  men  that  she  would  be  afraid. 

"Well,  then,  beat  on  a  dishpan  if  anything  dis 
turbs  you,  and  we'll  rush  across  in  a  body  and  rescue 
you, "  promised  Macauley. 

Left  alone,  Charlotte  went  inside,  lighted  a  genial 
looking  lamp,  and  sat  down  alone  in  her  little 


A  PRACTICAL  ARTIST  173 

living-room.  Chin  in  her  palms,  she  leaned  her 
elbows  upon  the  spindle-legged  table,  looking  up  at 
the  portrait  of  her  mother,  its  fine  colourings  glowing 
in  the  mellow  light  from  the  lamp.  She  sat  for 
a  long  time  in  this  posture,  her  eyes  losing  their 
sparkle  and  growing  dreamy,  and  —  at  last  —  a 
trifle  misty.  When  this  stage  occurred  she  suddenly 
jumped  up,  carried  the  lamp  into  the  kitchen, 
searched  until  she  found  a  candle  and  lighted  it, 
then,  extinguishing  the  lamp,  she  went  slowly 
upstairs  to  the  cot  bed. 

By  the  following  evening  her  preparations  were 
so  far  complete  that  she  could  take  the  evening  train 
for  Baltimore,  announcing  that  the  two  future 
occupants  of  the  little  house  would  return  within 
forty-eight  hours.  During  her  absence  the  three 
women  who  were  her  friends  put  their  heads  together, 
ordered  extra  baking  and  brewing  done  in  their 
own  kitchens,  and  ended  by  stocking  her  small 
shelves  with  a  great  array  of  good  things. 

Before  the  forty-eight  hours  had  quite  gone  by 
Miss  Ruston  was  leading  a  tiny  figure,  with  shoulders 
held  almost  as  straight  as  her  own,  in  at  the  hedge 
gate.  It  was  twilight  of  the  August  evening.  The 
cottage  door  was  open  and  the  rays  from  the  lamp 
lately  lighted  by  her  neighbours  streamed  down 
the  path. 

Charlotte  stooped  —  she  had  to  stoop  a  long  way 


i74  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

—  and  put  her  lips  close  to  the  small  ear  under  the 
white  hair  which  lay  softly  over  it.  "Doesn't  it 
look  like  home,  Granny?"  she  said,  in  a  peculiar, 
clear  tone,  a  little  raised. 

"What  say,  dear?"  responded  a  low  and  quite 
toneless  voice  —  the  voice  of  the  very  deaf. 

"Home,  Granny?"  repeated  the  younger  voice. 
The  strong  arm  of  the  taller  figure  came  about  the 
little  shoulders  in  the  small  gray  travelling  coat. 

"Warm?  Not  so  warm  as  it  was  on  the  train.  I 
shall  be  quite  comfortable  once  I  am  sitting  quietly  in 
my  chair. " 

Doctor  and  Mrs.  Burns,  following  the  travellers 
with  certain  pieces  of  hand  luggage,  looked  at  one 
another. 

"Bless  her  small  heart,  is  she  as  deaf  as  that?" 
queried  Red  Pepper,  in  a  whisper.  "I  shall  have 
difficulty  in  getting  my  adoration  over  to  her!" 

"She  has  grown  much  deafer  since  I  knew  her, 
several  years  ago,"  Ellen  explained.  "But  as  her 
eyes  seem  bright  as  ever  I  imagine  you  will  have 
no  difficulty  in  making  her  understand  your  adora 
tion.  She  is  used  to  it. " 

"I  should  think  she  might  be.  She  is  the  prettiest 
old  lady  I  ever  saw,  and  looks  one  of  the  keenest. 
We  shall  understand  each  other,  if  we  have  to  write 
on  slates. " 

Charlotte    led    Madam    Chase  —  Mrs.    Rodney 


A  PRACTICAL  ARTIST  175 

Rutherford  Chase  was  the  name  on  the  visiting 
cards  she  still  used  with  scrupulous  care  for  the 
observances  of  etiquette  —  in  at  the  cottage  door 
and  placed  her  in  the  winged  chair.  She  untied  and 
removed  a  microscopic  bonnet,  drew  off  the  gray  coat, 
and  laid  an  inquiring  ringer  on  her  charge's  wrist. 

"Let  me  attend  to  that,"  begged  R.  P.  Burns, 
looming  in  the  small  doorway.  "I'll  find  out  how 
tired  she  is.  'I  doubt  if  she  would  admit  it  by  word 
of  mouth." 

He  went  down  on  one  knee  beside  the  chair,  a 
procedure  which  brought  his  smiling  face  beside 
the  old  lady's  questioning  one.  His  fingers  clasped 
her  wrist,  and  held  it  after  he  had  found  out  what 
it  told  him. 

"Tired?"  he  said,  very  distinctly,  his  lips  forming 
the  word  for  her  to  see. 

Madam  Chase  shook  her  head  decidedly.  "Not 
at  all,  Doctor.  But  the  train  was  very  warm  and 
very  dusty.  I  shall  be  glad  to  feel  a  cool  linen 
pillow  under  my  head  instead  of  a  hot  cotton  one. " 

He  nodded.  "Could  you  eat  a  bit,  and  drink 
a  cup  of  tea?" 

"  What  say,  Doctor?  Tea ?  Yes,  I  should  be  glad 
of  tea.  I  never  like  the  decoction  they  serve  upon 
trains  and  call  tea." 

"I'll  have  it  for  her  in  a  minute,"  and  Ellen  went 
out  into  the  kitchen. 


176  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

Burns  looked  up  at  Miss  Ruston.  "As  soon  as 
she  has  had  her  tea  she  must  go  to  bed.  She  has 
stood  the  journey  well,  but  she  needs  a  long  rest 
after  it."  Then  he  looked  again  at  Mrs.  Rodney 
Rutherford  Chase.  "I  can  see  you  are  a  very 
plucky  small  person, "  said  .^he,  and  her  nod  and 
smile  in  answer  showed  that  at  least  she  caught  the 
indications  of  a  compliment. 

Presently,  when  she  had  had  her  tea,  had  patted 
Ellen's  hand  for  bringing  it,  and  had  looked  about 
her  a  little  with  observant  eyes  which  showed  pleas 
ure  when  they  rested  on  certain  familiar  objects, 
she  laid  her  white  curls  back  against  the  chair  and 
looked  up  at  her  granddaughter  like  a  child  who  asks 
to  be  put  to  sleep. 

Burns  advanced  again.  "May  I  have  the  hon 
our?"  he  asked,  stooping  over  the  tiny  figure  with 
outstretched  arms. 

"You'll  find  me  pretty  heavy,  Doctor,"  said  she, 
but  she  put  up  her  arms  and  clasped  his  neck  as  he 
lifted  her,  quite  as  if  it  were  a  matter  of  course  with 
her  to  have  stalwart  men  offer  their  services  on  all 
occasions.  Burns  strode  up  the  steep  and  narrow 
staircase  with  her  as  if  she  had  been  a  child,  Char 
lotte  preceding  him  with  a  pair  of  candles.  In  her 
own  room  he  laid  the  little  old  lady  on  her  bed, 
then  stooped  once  more. 

"May  I  have  a  reward  for  that?"  he  asked,  and 


A  PRACTICAL  ARTIST  177 

without  waiting  for  permission  kissed  the  delicate 
cheek,  as  soft  and  smooth  as  velvet  beneath  his  lips. 

"You  are  a  very  good  young  man,"  said  the  old 
lady.  "I  think  I  shall  have  to  adopt  you  as  a 
grandson." 

Burns  laid  his  hand  on  his  heart  and  made  her  a 
deeply  respectful  bow,  at  which  she  laughed  and 
waved  him  away. 

"Adorable,"  said  he  to  Charlotte,  on  his  way 
down,  "is  not  a  word  which  men  use  over  every 
small  object,  as  you  women  do,  therefore  it  should 
have  the  more  force  when  they  do  make  use  of  it. 
No  other  word  fits  little  Madam  Chase  so  well. 
Consider  me  yours  to  command  in  her  service,  at 
any  hour  of  day  or  night. " 

"Thank  you,"  Charlotte  called  softly  after  him. 
"I  assure  you  she  will  command  you  herself,  and 
delight  in  doing  it.  She  never  fails  to  recognize 
homage  when  she  receives  it,  or  to  demand  it  when 
she  does  not.  But  she  will  give  you  quite  as  much 
as  she  takes  from  you. " 

"I'm  confident  of  it,"  and  Burns  descended  to 
his  wife.  "You  have  a  rival,"  he  told  her  solemnly. 


CHAPTER  X 

A  "RUN  A  WAY   ROAD 

CAMERA  hung  by  a  strap  over  her  shoulder, 
small  tripod  tucked  under  her  arm,  Charlotte 
Chase  Ruston,  photographer,  turned  aside  from  the 
country  road  along  which  she  was  walking,  to 
follow  a  winding  lane  leading  into  a  deep  wood. 
The  luring  entrance  to  this  lane  had  been  beyond 
her  power  to  resist,  although  the  sun  had  climbed 
nearly  to  the  zenith,  warning  her  that  it  was  time 
to  turn  her  steps  toward  home.  In  her  search  for 
picturesque  bits  of  landscape  to  turn  to  account 
in  her  work,  her  enthusiasm  was  likely  at  any  time 
to  lead  her  far  afield. 

Just  as  the  lane  promised  to  debouch  into  an  open 
meadow  and  release  its  victim  from  any  special 
sense  of  curiosity,  it  suddenly  swerved  to  one  side, 
forced  its  way  under  a  pair  of  bars,  and  ran  curv 
ing  away  into  deep  shadows,  fringed  with  ferns,  and 
overhung  with  the  dense  foliage  of  oak  and  walnut. 
A  distant  glimpse  of  brilliant  scarlet  flowers,  standing 
like  sentinels  in  uniform  against  the  dark  green  of  the 
undergrowth,  beckoned  like  a  hand.  With  a  laugh 

178 


A  RUNAWAY  ROAD  179 

Charlotte  set  her  foot  upon  the  bottom  rail.  "I'm 
coming/'  she  called  blithely  to  the  scarlet  flowers. 
"You  needn't  shout  so  loud  at  me." 

Hurrying,  because  of  the  hour,  she  pulled  her 
blue  linen  skirts  over  the  fence,  and  dropped  lightly 
upon  the  other  side.  She  ran  along  the  lane  to  the 
flowers,  stopped  to  admire,  but  refused  to  pick 
them,  telling  them  they  were  better  where  they  were, 
and  would  droop  before  she  could  get  them  home. 
Then  she  went  swiftly  on  around  a  bend  in  the  cart- 
path,  catching  the  faint  sound  of  falling  water,  and 
impelled  to  seek  its  source,  just  as  is  every  one  at 
hearing  that  suggestive  sound.  And,  of  course, 
the  water  was  farther  away  than  it  sounded. 

A  trifle  short  of  breath,  from  her  haste,  she  ran 
it  down  at  last,  and  came  upon  it  —  a  series  of  small 
waterfalls  down  which  a  small  stream  tumbled  reck 
lessly  along  a  vagrant  watercourse,  seeming  to  care 
little  when  it  reached  its  destination,  so  that  it 
contrived  to  have  plenty  of  fun  and  exercise  by  the 
way.  And  on  the  bank,  stretched  recumbent, 
hands  clasped  under  head,  lay  a  long  figure  in  gray 
flannels,  a  straw  hat  and  a  book  at  its  side. 

Charlotte  stopped  short.  The  figure  turned  its 
head,  sat  up,  and  got  rather  quickly  to  its  feet, 
pushing  back  a  heavy,  dark  lock  of  hair  which  had 
fallen  across  a  tanned  forehead.  Dr.  John  Leaver 
came  forward. 


i8o  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

"I'm  so  sorry  I  disturbed  you,"  said  Charlotte 
Ruston,  finding  words  at  last,  after  having  been 
surprised  out  of  speech  by  the  sudden  apparition. 
"I  hope  I  didn't  wake  you  from  a  nap." 

"You  haven't  disturbed  me,  and  I  was  not  asleep. 
I'm  only  waiting  for  Dr.  Burns,  who  may  come  now 
at  any  minute.  This  is  a  pleasant  place  to  meet 
in,  isn't  it?" 

Their  hands  met,  each  looked  with  swift,  straight 
scrutiny  into  the  face  of  the  other,  and  then  hands 
and  eyes  parted  abruptly.  When  they  regarded 
each  other  after  that,  it  was  as  two  casual  acquaint 
ances  may  exchange  glances,  in  the  course  of  con 
versation,  when  other  things  are  of  more  interest 
than  the  personal  relation. 

"Indeed  it  is  pleasant  —  charming!  The  path 
lured  me  on  and  on,  I  couldn't  stop.  I  ought  to  be 
at  home  this  minute.  Did  you  walk  so  far?  Mrs. 
Burns  told  me  you  were  here,  and  that  you  had  been 
ill.  I  was  very  sorry,  and  I'm  now  so  glad  to  see 
you  looking  so  well. " 

"Thank  you.  I  am  much  myself  again,  but  not 
yet  quite  equal  to  a  walk  of  this  distance.  Dr. 
Burns  and  his  car  are  just  a  few  rods  away,  on  the 
other  side  of  this  bit  of  woods.  He  has  a  patient 
in  a  little  shack  over  there,  and  brought  me  along 
to  see  this  spot.  It  was  worth  coming  for. " 

"You  must  enjoy  Dr.  Burns  very  much. " 


A  RUNAWAY  ROAD  181 

"We  are  old  friends,  and  being  together  again, 
after  a  nine-years'  separation,  is  a  thing  to  make 
the  most  of. " 

"I  should  think  so.  He  seems  so  alive,  so  full  of 
interest  in  every  living  thing.  He  must  be  a  fine 
comrade. " 

"The  finest  in  the  world.  To  me  there  is  nobody 
like  him,  and  most  people  who  know  him,  I've 
noticed,  feel  in  the  same  way.  He  has  a  beautiful 
wife.  She  is  a  friend  of  yours,  she  tells  me. " 

"Also  an  old  friend,  and  almost  the  dearest  I 
have.  I'm  very  happy  to  be  near  her.  Dr.  Leaver, 
will  you  tell  me  what  time  it  is,  please?  I  have  a 
dreadful  suspicion  that  I  shall  be  very  late." 

As  he  drew  out  his  watch  a  voice  was  heard  from 
the  other  side  of  a  clump  of  undergrowth,  calling 
crisply: 

"All  right,  Jack,  we're  off.  One  more  call  before 
luncheon,  and  it's  blamed  late,  so  get  busy." 

"In  a  minute,"  Leaver  called  back,  smiling,  as 
he  showed  Charlotte  his  watch's  dial. 

Red  Pepper  Burns  looked  over  the  bushes,  dis 
cerning  in  his  friend's  tone  an  intention  of  delay,  and 
inclined  to  be  still  more  peremptory  with  him  about 
it.  Discovering  now  what  looked  like  an  interesting 
situation,  he  came  forward,  bareheaded,  his  frown 
of  impatience  turning  to  a  smile  of  greeting. 

"What    luck,   to   find    a    dryad    in    the  woods!" 


182  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

he  cried.  "Did  this  gentleman  invade  your  do 
main?" 

"Not  at  all.  I  invaded  his  most  unexpectedly. 
I  was  following  a  lane,  intending  to  turn  back  at 
any  moment,  when  it  ran  away  under  a  fence  and 
treacherously  led  me  into  trouble. " 

"Call  it  trouble,  do  you,  meeting  your  friends  in 
the  woods?  That's  always  the  way!  Call  a  woman 
luck,  and  she  calls  you  trouble!  Let  me  tell  you, 
Miss  Charlotte,  it's  luck  for  you,  meeting  us,  for  we 
can  give  you  a  lift  of  a  mile  down  the  road.  We 
have  to  turn  off  there,  but  you'll  be  less  late  for  a 
luncheon  that's  probably  already  cold  than  you 
would  be  after  walking  the  whole  distance.  You 
won't  refuse?  You  mustn't,  for  I  expect  it's  my 
only  chance  to  get  John  Stone  Leaver  of  Baltimore 
started.  Otherwise  he'll  stand  here  till  mid-after 
noon,  showing  you  his  watch  and  pointing  out  to 
you  the  beauties  of  this  noisy  brook. " 

"Thank  you,  Dr.  Burns,  but  you  can't  very  well 
take  me  in  a  car  built  for  two. " 

"Can't  I?  The  car  has  frequently  carried  half 
a  dozen,  judiciously  distributed  over  the  running- 
boards,  to  the  imminent  peril  of  the  tires  and  springs. 
We'll  put  Dr.  Leaver  on  the  running-board.  It  will 
hurt  neither  his  clothes  nor  his  dignity,  and  if  it 
does  he  can  get  off  and  walk. " 

He   led   the   way.     If   she   could   have   done   so 


A  RUNAWAY  ROAD  183 

Charlotte  would  gladly  have  turned  and  run  away. 
But  there  are  people  from  whom  one  cannot  easily 
run  away,  and  Red  Pepper  Burns  was  one  of  them. 
With  all  his  powers  of  discernment,  he  had  no 
possible  notion  that  the  two  who  followed  him  were 
not  eager  to  accept  this  arrangement.  They  looked 
well  together,  too,  he  had  observed  as  he  neared 
them  —  exceedingly  well.  He  was  sure  he  was  doing 
them  a  favour  in  keeping  them  together  as  long  as 
possible. 

In  point  of  actual  distance  he  certainly  succeeded 
literally  in  keeping  them  extremely  near  together, 
during  the  few  minutes  it  took  to  get  out  of  a  winding 
wood-road  to  the  main  highway,  and  to  drive  at 
a  stimulating  pace  a  mile  down  that  road.  When 
Leaver  took  his  place  upon  the  running-board  he  was 
unavoidably  close  to  Charlotte's  knee,  and  his  head 
was  within  reach  of  her  hand.  His  hand,  grasping 
the  only  available  hold  with  which  to  keep  himself 
in  place,  as  Burns  let  the  car  go  at  high  speed,  was 
close  under  her  eyes. 

Keeping  his  eyes  upon  the  road,  Burns,  in  a  gay 
mood  now,  kept  up  a  running  fire  of  talk,  to  which 
Charlotte,  as  became  necessary,  responded.  Leaver, 
straw  hat  in  hand,  also  stared  straight  ahead,  and 
Charlotte,  unobserved  by  either  companion,  looked 
at  the  head  below  her,  its  heavy,  dark-brown  hair 
ruffled  by  the  wind  of  their  progress,  noted  —  not 


184  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

for  the  first  time  —  the  fine  line  of  the  partial 
profile,  the  shoulder  in  its  gray  flannel,  the  well-knit 
hand,  tanned,  like  its  owner's  face,  with  much 
exposure.  And,  as  she  made  these  furtive  obser 
vations,  something  within  her  breast,  which  she 
had  thought  well  under  control,  became  suddenly 
unmanageable. 

"  I'm  sorry  to  desert  you  here,  so  ungallantly, " 
Burns  declared,  bringing  the  car  to  a  standstill  at  a 
cross-road.  "If  my  friend  here  were  quite  fit  I'd 
put  him  down,  too,  and  give  him  the  pleasure  of 
walking  in  with  you.  In  a  week  or  two  more  I'll 
turn  him  loose.  Looks  pretty  healthy,  doesn't  he?" 

"I'm  entirely  able  to  walk  in  with  Miss  Ruston 
now,"  said  Leaver,  standing,  hat  in  hand,  in  the 
road,  as  Charlotte  adjusted  her  belongings  and 
prepared  to  walk  rapidly  away. 

"That's  my  affair,  for  a  bit  longer,"  and  Burns 
put  out  a  peremptory  hand.  "Be  good  and  jump 
in.  The  lady  will  excuse  you,  and  I  won't,  so  there 
you  are.  Forgive  me,  Miss  Ruston,  and  don't 
bring  on  heart  failure  by  walking  too  fast  in  this 
August  sun." 

"I  won't.  Good-bye,  and  thank  you  both," 
and  Charlotte  set  briskly  off  toward  home,  while 
the  car  swept  round  the  turn  and  disappeared  into 
a  hollow  of  the  road. 

"That's  what  I   call   a  particularly  worth-while 


A  RUNAWAY  ROAD  185 

girl,"  commented  Burns,  as  the  Imp  carried  them 
away.  "Beauty,  and  sense,  and  spirit,  not  to 
mention  originality  and  a  few  other  attributes. 
You  don't  often  get  them  all  combined.  Good  old 
family,  according  to  my  wife,  but  all  gone  now, 
and  this  girl  left  to  make  her  way  on  her  own 
resources.  But  perhaps  you  know  all  this  already, 
since  you've  met  her  before?" 

"  I  know  the  main  facts  —  yes, "  Leaver  re 
sponded.  His  lips  had  taken  on  a  curiously  tight 
set,  since  the  car  had  left  the  corner.  His  eyes, 
under  their  strongly  marked  brows,  narrowed  a 
little,  as  he  looked  out  across  a  field  of  corn  yellow 
ing  in  the  sunlight.  "She  has  visited  more  or  less  in 
Baltimore,  where  she  has  been  very  much  admired." 

"  Why  '  has  been '  ?  "  queried  Burns.  "  She  doesn  't 
look  like  a  *  has-been'  to  me.  More  like  very  much 
of  a  "  now-and-here  "—  eh?" 

"I  mean  only  that  since  she  has  been  thrown 
upon  her  own  resources  she  has  applied  herself 
closely  to  the  study  of  photography,  and  has  been 
little  seen  in  society. " 

"I  imagine  when  she  was  seen  she  kept  a  few 
fellows  guessing.  She  looks  to  me  as  if  she  might 
have  refused  her  full  share  of  men." 

"I  have  no  doubt  of  it. " 

That  which  Burns  would  have  enjoyed  saying 
next  he  refrained  from.  But  to  himself  he  made  the 


186  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

observation:  "By  the  signs  I  haven't  much  doubt 
you  were  one  of  them,  old  man."  Aloud  he  ques 
tioned  innocently: 

"You  know  her  rather  well?" 

"Quite  well." 

"Your  manner  says 'Drop  it,'"  observed  Burns, 
with  a  keen  glance  at  a  side-face  clean-cut  against 
the  landscape.  "I've  encountered  that  manner 
before,  and  I'll  take  warning  accordingly.  This  is 
a  fine  day,  and  it's  rather  an  interesting  case  I'm 
going  to  see,  up  this  road.  If  you  care  to  come  in 
I'll  be  glad  of  your  opinion,  but  I  won't  insist  on  it. " 

"Unless  you  really  wish  it,  I'll  stay  out,  thank  you." 

Burns  left  his  companion  in  the  car,  open  book  in 
hand.  It  was  a  book  Red  Pepper  had  strongly  recom 
mended,  with  the  motive  of  stirring  up  his  friend 
to  interested  resentment, —  a  particularly  unfair  and 
prejudiced  discussion  of  a  subject  just  then  being 
torn  to  pieces  by  all  manner  of  disputants,  with  the 
issue  still  very  much  in  doubt.  He  knew  precisely 
the  place  Leaver  had  reached  in  his  reading,  and 
noted,  as  he  got  out  of  the  car,  the  page  at  which  he 
was  about  to  begin.  The  page  was  one  easily 
recognizable,  for  it  was  one  upon  whose  margin  he 
himself  had  drawn,  in  a  moment  of  intense  irritation 
with  the  argument  advanced  thereon,  a  rough 
outline  of  a  donkey's  head  with  impossibly  long  and 
obstinate  ears. 


A  RUNAWAY  ROAD  187 

He  left  Leaver  with  eyes  bent  upon  the  page, 
not  the  semblance  of  a  smile  touching  his  grave 
mouth  at  sight  of  the  really  striking  and  effective 
cartoon  which  so  ably  expressed  a  former  reader's 
sentiments.  Burns  went  into  the  house  making 
with  himself  a  wager  as  to  how  far  Leaver's  perusal 
of  the  chapter  would  have  progressed  in  the  ten 
minutes  which  would  suffice  for  the  visit,  and  was 
divided  whether  to  stake  a  page  against  a  half- 
chapter,  or  to  risk  his  friend's  being  aware  of  his 
observation  and  leaping  through  the  chapter  to 
its  end. 

When  he  came  out  the  book  was  closed  and  lying 
upon  Leaver's  knee.  Burns  took  his  place  and  drove 
off,  malice  sparkling  in  his  eye. 

"What  did  you  think  of  that  chapter?"  he  in 
quired. 

"Interesting  argument,  but  weak  in  spots." 

"Hm  —  m.     Which  spots?" 

Leaver  indicated  them.  There  could  be  no  doubt 
that  he  had  read  the  chapter  carefully  to  the  end. 
Burns  put  him  through  a  severe  cross-examination, 
but  he  stood  the  test,  much  to  his  examiner's  disgust. 
In  detective  work  it  is  usually  irritating  to  have 
one's  theories  disproved.  But  he  still  doubted 
the  evidence  of  his  ears.  Either  John  Leaver  was 
a  colder  blooded  deceiver  than  he  thought  him,  or 
his  powers  of  concentration  were  more  than  ordi- 


1 88  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

narily  great,  that  he  could  turn  from  the  contempla 
tion  of  a  subject  like  the  one  left  at  the  cross-roads 
corner,  a  subject  which  Burns  was  pretty  sure 
vitally  concerned  him,  to  a  mere  abstract  discussion 
of  a  modern  sociological  problem,  bare  of  practical 
illustration,  and  dealing  purely  with  one  man's  notions 
not  yet  worked  out  to  any  constructive  conclusion. 

"Well,"  said  Leaver,  turning  suddenly  to  look  at 
Burns  with  a  smile,  "are  you  satisfied  that  I  have 
read  the  chapter?" 

Burns  also  turned,  met  his  companion's  eye,  and 
broke  into  a  laugh.  "I  shall  have  to  admit  you 
have,"  said  he. 

"Why  should  you  have  doubted  it?" 

"I  haven't  been  gone  long  enough  for  you  to  have 
read  and  digested  it. " 

Leaver  looked  at  his  watch.  "You  were  gone 
seventeen  minutes.  That's  long  enough  to  take  in 
the  argument  pretty  thoroughly.  As  to  digesting 
it  —  it's  indigestible.  Why  try?" 

"No  use  at  all.  But  having  given  my  mental 
machinery  a  lot  of  friction  I  enjoyed  trying  to  stir 
yours  up  also  to  irritation  and  discontent.  But 
I  haven't  done  it.  You've  remained  calm  where 
I  grew  hot.  Also  you've  proved  your  ability  to 
change  the  subject  of  your  thinking  as  you  would 
switch  off  one  electric  current  and  switch  on  another. 
It  shows  you're  a  well  man. " 


A  RUNAWAY  ROAD  189 

"I  must  warn  you,  as  I  have  done  at  various 
times  in  our  association:  'Don't  jump  to  con 
clusions.'  Your  first  one,  that  I  hadn't  read  the 
chapter,  was  wrong.  I  had  read  it.  Your  second 
one,  that,  after  all,  I  had  read  the  chapter  while  you 
were  in  the  house,  was  also  wrong.  I  had  read  it 
by  the  side  of  the  brook,  an  hour  ago. " 

Burns's  laughter  spoke  his  enjoyment  as  heartily 
as  if  he  were  not  the  one  cornered.  But  his  amuse 
ment  ended  in  triumph,  after  all,  though  to  this  he 
discreetly  did  not  give  voice.  Since  he  had  met 
Miss  Charlotte  Ruston  in  the  woods  Dr.  John 
Leaver  had  not  given  himself  to  the  study  of  any 
other  man's  ideas. 


CHAPTER  XI 

AFTER    DINNER 

/CHARLOTTE  CHASE  RUSTON,  I  want  you 
V_>4  to  come  over  to  a  little  dinner  to-night.  Just 
a  few  people,  and  as  informal  as  dinners  on  hot 
August  evenings  should  be.  Afterward  we'll  spend 
the  time  on  the  porch. " 

"Thank  you,  Len.  Whom  are  you  going  to  have? 
I  want  to  prepare  my  mind  for  what  is  likely  to 
happen." 

Mrs.  Burns  mentioned  her  guests.  "I've  arranged 
them  with  special  reference  to  Dr.  Leaver,"  she 
explained.  "I  think  it  will  do  him  good,  just  now, 
to  have  to  exert  himself  a  little  bit.  He  seems 
well  enough,  but  absolutely  uninterested  in  things 
or  people,  —  except  the  children.  He  spends  hours 
with  them.  I'm  going  to  put  you  next  him,  if  I 
may." 

"Please  don't.  I  particularly  want  the  chance 
to  talk  with  Mr.  Arthur  Chester  about  something 
I've  found  he  can  tell  me.  We  never  can  get  time 
for  it,  and  this  will  be  just  the  chance.  Give  Miss 
Mathewson  to  Dr.  Leaver,  and  put  some  pretty  girl 
on  his  other  side." 

190 


AFTER  DINNER  191 

"I  will,  if  you  prefer,  of  course,"  Ellen  agreed 
promptly.  She  had  observed  that,  although  she 
had  taken  pains  to  have  them  meet,  Dr.  Leaver 
and  Miss  Ruston  seemed  to  be  in  the  habit  of 
quietly  avoiding  each  other.  But  she  was  not 
the  woman  to  ask  her  friend's  confidence,  since 
it  was  not  voluntarily  given.  She  could  only 
wonder  why  two  people  from  the  same  world, 
apparently  so  well  suited  to  each  other,  should 
be  so  averse  to  spending  even  a  few  moments 
together. 

An  hour  later  Charlotte,  having  dispatched 
considerable  business,  bundling  it  out  of  the  way 
as  if  it  had  suddenly  become  of  no  account,  was 
delving  in  a  trunk  for  a  frock. 

"It's  the  one  and  only  possible  thing  I  have  that 
will  do  for  one  of  Len's 'little  dinners/"  she  was 
saying  to  herself.  "I  know  just  how  she'll  be  look 
ing,  and  I  must  live  up  to  her.  I  wonder  if  I  can 
mend  it  to  be  fit  —  I  wonder. " 

She  carried  it  downstairs.  Madam  Chase,  sitting 
by  the  window  with  her  knitting,  looked  up. 

"Mending  lace,  dearie?"  she  asked.  "Can't  I  do 
it  for  you  ? " 

"I'm  afraid  it's  beyond  even  you,  Granny," 
she  said,  ruefully.  To  the  deaf  ears  her  gesture 
told  more  than  her  words. 

"Let  me  see,"  commanded  the  old  lady.     When 


i92  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

the  gauzy  gown  was  spread  before  her  she  examined 
it  carefully. 

"If  it  need  not  be  washed  — —  "  she  began. 

"It  must  be.  Look  at  the  bottom."  Charlotte's 
expressive  hands  demonstrated  as  she  talked. 
"  I've  danced  in  it  and  sat  out  dances  in  all  sorts 
of  places  in  it.  But  I  can  wash  it,  if  you  can  mend 
it.  I'll  wash  it  with  the  tips  of  my  fingers. " 

"I  will  try,"  said  her  grandmother. 

That  afternoon  Charlotte  carefully  laundered  the 
mended  gown,  dried  it  in  the  sun  and  ironed  it, 
partly  with  her  fingers,  partly  with  a  tiny  iron. 
Finished,  it  was  a  work  of  art,  a  frock  of  rare  lace 
of  exquisite  design,  several  times  made  over,  and 
now,  in  its  last  stage,  prettier  than  in  its  first. 

"  If  it  will  hold  together, "  Charlotte  said  laughing, 
as  she  put  it  on,  and,  kneeling  before  Granny,  waited 
while  the  delicate  old  fingers  slowly  fastened  each 
eyelet.  When  she  rose  she  was  a  figure  at  which  the 
old  lady  who  loved  her  looked  with  pleased  eyes. 

"You  are  beautiful,  dearie,"  she  said.  "And 
nobody  will  guess  that  your  dress  is  mended. " 

"Not  a  bit,  thanks  to  your  clever  fingers.  Now 
I'll  go  find  some  flowers  to  wear,  and  then  I'm  off. 
I'll  come  back  to  put  you  to  bed,  and  you'll  send 
Bob  over  if  you  want  the  least  thing,  won't  you, 
even  the  least?" 

Charlotte  went  out  into  her  garden,  holding  her 


AFTER  DINNER  193 

skirts  carefully  away  from  possible  touch  of  bush 
or  briar.  Late  August  flowers  were  many,  but 
among  them  were  none  that  pleased  her.  She 
came  away  therefore  without  a  touch  of  colour 
upon  her  white  attire,  yet  seeming  to  need  none, 
the  bloom  upon  her  cheek  was  so  clear,  the  dusk  of 
her  hair  so  rich. 

"Isn't  she  fascinating?"  said  Winifred  Chester 
in  the  ear  of  John  Leaver,  as  Charlotte  came  in. 
"I  never  saw  a  girl  who  seemed  so  radiantly  well 
and  happy,  with  so  little  to  make  her  so.  I  think 
she  and  Madam  Chase  must  be  very  poor,  all  the 
nice  things  they  have  seem  so  old,  and  the  new 
things  so  very  simple.  Ellen  says  the  family  was 
a  very  fine  one. " 

"Very  fine,"  he  agreed.  His  eyes  were  upon 
Charlotte  as  she  greeted  her  hosts.  He  answered 
Winifred's  further  comments  absently.  He  bowed 
gravely  in  response  to  Charlotte's  recognition  of 
him,  then  turned  and  talked  with  the  pretty  girl 
whom  Ellen  had  asked  him  to  take  in  to  dinner. 

At  the  table  Miss  Ruston  and  Dr.  Leaver  found 
themselves  nearly  opposite.  Leaver  talked  con 
scientiously  with  his  companion,  then  devoted 
himself  to  Winifred  Chester,  upon  his  other  side. 
Returning  to  do  his  duty  by  Miss  Everett,  he  found 
her  eager  to  discuss  those  opposite. 

"They  say  Miss  Ruston  does  the  most  wonderful 


i94  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

photographs,"  she  observed.  "One  would  know 
she  was  devoted  to  some  art,  wouldn't  one?  The 
way  that  frock  is  cut  about  her  shoulders  —  only 
an  artist  would  venture  to  wear  it  like  that,  without 
a  single  touch  of  colour.  Every  other  woman  I 
know  would  have  put  on  a  string  of  gold  beads  or 
pearls  or  at  least  a  pendant  of  some  sort. " 

For  a  moment  Leaver  forgot  to  answer.  He  had 
not  looked  at  Charlotte  since  he  had  first  taken 
his  seat.  Now,  with  Miss  Everett  calling  his  at 
tention  to  her,  and  everybody  else,  including  the 
subject  of  their  interest,  absorbed  in  their  own 
affairs,  he  let  his  eyes  rest  lingeringly  upon  her. 
He  had  had  only  brief  glimpses  of  her  since  she  had 
come  to  town,  and  had  seen  her  at  such  times  always 
in  the  summer  street-or-garden  attire  which  she 
constantly  wore.  Now  he  saw  her  under  conditions 
which  vividly  brought  back  to  him  other  scenes. 
The  white  lace  gown  she  wore,  with  its  peculiar  cut, 
like  the  spreading  of  flower  petals  about  the  beauti 
fully  modeled  shoulders  —  it  struck  him  as  familiar. 
Had  she  worn  any  jewels  upon  that  white  neck  when 
he  had  seen  her?  He  thought  not.  He  had  never 
known  her  to  wear  ornament  of  any  sort,  he  was 
sure.  She  needed  none,  he  was  equally  sure  of  that. 
As  she  sat,  with  her  head  turned  toward  Arthur 
Chester,  who  was  expounding  with  great  elaboration 
something  which  called  for  maps  upon  the  tablecloth 


AFTER  DINNER  195 

drawn  with  a  rapidly  moving  finger,  she  was  showing 
to  the  observers  across  the  table  a  face  and  head  in 
profile,  an  outline  which  had  been  burned  into  the 
memory  of  the  man  who  now  regarded  it  and  forgot 
to  make  answer. 

Miss  Everett  glanced  at  him  curiously.  Then  she 
murmured:  "Don't  you  think  the  leaving  off  of  all 
ornaments  is  sometimes  just  as  much  a  coquetry 
as  the  wearing  of  them  would  be?  It  certainly 
challenges  notice  even  more,  doesn't  it?" 

"It  depends  on  whether  one  happens  to  possess 
them,  I  should  say,"  Leaver  returned. 

"About  their  drawing  attention,  or  their  absence 
drawing  it?  I  suppose  so.  But  when  you  don't 
know  which  it  is,  but  judge  by  the  richness  of  the 
gown  that  the  wearer  can  afford  them " 

"  I'm  no  judge  of  the  richness  of  a  gown. " 

"I  am,  then.  That  is  the  most  wonderful  lace  — 
anybody  can  see  —  at  least  any  woman. " 

"Tell  me,  Miss  Everett,"  —  Leaver  made  a 
determined  effort  to  get  away  from  the  personal 
aspect  of  the  subject, —  "why  does  a  woman  love 
jewels?  For  their  own  sake,  or  because  of  their 
power  to  adorn  her  —  if  they  do  adorn  her?" 

The  young  woman  plunged  animatedly  into  a 
discussion  of  the  topic  as  he  presented  it.  She  was 
wearing  certain  striking  ornaments  of  pearl  and 
turquoise,  which  undoubtedly  became  her  fair 


196  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

colouring  whether  they  enhanced  her  beauty  or  not. 
It  was  while  this  discussion  was  in  progress,  Leaver 
forcing  himself  to  attend  sufficiently  to  make  intelli 
gent  replies,  that  Charlotte  Ruston  suddenly  turned 
and  looked  at  him.  He  looked  straight  back  at 
her,  a  peculiar  intentness  growing  in  his  deep-set 
eyes. 

He  did  not  withdraw  his  gaze  until  she  had  turned 
away  again,  and  the  encounter  had  been  but  for 
the  briefest  space,  yet  when  it  was  over  John  Leaver's 
colour  had  changed  a  little.  For  the  moment  it  was 
as  if  nobody  else  had  been  in  the  room  —  he  was 
only  dully  conscious  that  upon  his  other  side  Wini 
fred  Chester  was  addressing  him,  and  that  he  must 
make  reply. 

When  the  company  which  had  spent  the  sultry 
August  evening  upon  the  porch  in  the  semi-darkness 
was  near  to  breaking  up,  Leaver  came  to  Charlotte 
and  took  his  place  beside  her.  When  she  left  the 
house  he  was  with  her,  and  the  two  crossed  the 
street  and  went  in  at  the  hedge  gate  together. 

"May  I  stay  a  very  little  while?"  he  asked. 
And  when  she  assented  he  added,  "  Shall  we  find 
the  bench  in  your  garden?" 

"Do  you  know  that  bench?"  she  questioned, 
surprised. 

"I  spent  many  hours  upon  it  before  you  came, 
and  during  the  days  when  I  was  not  getting  about 


AFTER  DINNER  197 

much.       I  listened  to  the    reading    of  two    books, 
lounging  there.     So  it  seems  like  a  familiar  spot 


to  me. r' 


"It  is  my  favourite  resting  place.  I  am  sorry 
you  were  driven  away  by  my  coming.  You  and 
Miss  Mathewson  would  have  been  very  welcome 
there,  all  the  rest  of  the  summer,  if  I  had  known." 

"Thank  you.  But  I  have  passed  the  invalid 
stage  and  am  not  being  treated  as  a  patient.  I  read 
for  myself,  at  present,  and  tramp  the  country, 
instead  of  sitting  on  benches,  anywhere.  It's  a 
great  improvement." 

"I  am  very  glad." 

Charlotte  let  him  lead  the  way  to  the  retreat 
under  the  apple-tree,  and  he  proved  his  knowledge 
of  it  by  stopping  now  and  then  to  hold  aside  hinder 
ing  branches  of  shrubbery,  and  to  lift  for  her  a  cer 
tain  heavily  leafed  bough  which  drooped  across  the 
path,  but  which  would  hardly  have  been  discerned 
in  the  summer  starlight  by  one  not  familiar  with 
its  position. 

"It  would  be  a  pity  to  tear  that  gown,"  he  re 
marked,  as  the  last  barrier  was  passed.  "  It  occurred 
to  me,  as  I  looked  at  you  to-night,  that  it  was  one 
I  had  seen  you  wear  in  Baltimore,  last  winter. 
Am  I  right?" 

"Last  winter,  and  the  winter  before,  and  even 
the  winter  before  that,  if  you  had  known  me  so 


i98  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

long,"  she  answered,  with  a  gay  little  laugh.  "I  am 
so  fond  of  it  I  shall  not  discard  it  until  it  can  no 
longer  be  mended." 

"You  are  wise.  I  believe  it  is  hardly  the  attitude 
of  the  modern  woman  toward  dress  of  any  sort, 
but  it  might  well  be.  We  never  tire  of  Nature, 
though  she  wears  the  same  costume  season  after 


season." 


"Her  frocks  don't  fray  at  the  edges  —  or  when 
they  do  she  turns  them  such  gorgeous  colours  that 
we  don't  notice  they  are  getting  worn. " 

"Aren't  there  some  rough  edges  on  this  bench? 
Please  take  this  end;  I  think  I  recall  that  it  is 
smoother  than  the  other. " 

"Thank  you.  One  good  tear,  and  even  Granny's 
needle  couldn't  make  me  whole  again. " 

He  bent  over  to  pick  up  a  scarf  of  silver  gauze 
which  had  slipped  from  her  shoulders.  He  laid  it 
about  them,  and  as  he  did  so  she  shivered  suddenly, 
though  the  air  was  warm,  without  a  hint  of  damp 
ness.  But  she  covered  the  involuntary  movement 
with  a  shrug,  saying  lightly,  "A  man  I  know  says 
he  thoroughly  believes  a  woman  is  colder  rather 
than  warmer  in  a  scarf  like  this,  on  the  theory  that 
anything  with  so  many  holes  in  it  must  create  an 
infinite  number  of  small  draughts. " 

"He  may  be  right.  But  I  confess,  as  a  physician, 
I  like  to  cover  up  exposed  surfaces  from  the  open 


AFTER  DINNER  199 

night  air  —  to  a  certain  extent  —  even  with  an 
excuse  for  a  protection  like  this." 

He  sat  down  beside  her.  The  bench  was  not  a 
long  one,  and  he  was  nearer  to  her  than  he  had  yet 
been  to-night.  She  sat  quietly,  one  hand  lying 
motionless  in  her  lap.  The  other  hand,  down  at 
her  side,  laid  hold  of  the  edge  of  the  bench  and 
gripped  it  rather  tightly.  She  began  to  talk  about 
the  old  garden,  as  it  lay  before  them,  its  straggling 
paths  and  beds  of  flowers  mere  patches  of  shadow, 
dark  and  light.  He  answered,  now  and  then,  in 
an  absent  sort  of  way,  as  if  his  mind  were  upon 
something  else,  and  he  only  partly  heard.  She 
spoke  of  "Sunny  Farm"  —  the  children's  hospital 
in  the  country  —  of  Burns  and  Ellen  and  Bob  — 
and  then,  suddenly,  with  a  sense  of  the  uselessness 
of  trying  all  by  herself  to  make  small  talk  under 
conditions  of  growing  constraint,  she  fell  silent. 
He  let  the  silence  endure  for  a  little  space,  then 
broke  it  bluntly. 

"I'm  glad,"  he  said,  in  the  deep,  quiet  voice  she 
remembered  well,  "that  you  will  give  me  a  chance. 
What  is  the  use  of  pretending  that  I  have  brought 
you  here  to  talk  of  other  people?  I  have  something 
to  say  to  you,  and  you  know  it.  I  can't  lead  up 
to  it  by  any  art,  for  it  has  become  merely  a  fact 
which  it  is  your  right  to  know.  You  should  have 
known  it  long  ago." 


200  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

He  stopped  for  a  minute.  She  was  absolutely 
still  beside  him,  except  for  the  hand  that  gripped 
the  edge  of  the  bench.  That  took  a  fresh  hold. 

When  he  spoke  again,  his  voice,  though  still 
quiet,  showed  tension. 

"Before  I  saw  you  the  last  time,  last  spring,  I 
meant  to  ask  you  to  marry  me.  When  I  did  see  you, 
something  had  happened  to  make  that  impossible.  It 
had  not  only  made  it  impossible,  but  it  made  me  un 
able  even  to  explain.  I  shall  never  forget  that 
strange  hour  I  spent  with  you.  You  knew  that 
something  was  the  matter.  But  I  couldn't  tell  you. 
I  thought  then  I  never  could.  Seeing  you,  as  I  have 
to-night,  I  realized  that  I  couldn't  wait  another 
hour  to  tell  you.  But,  even  now,  I  don't  feel  that 
I  can  explain.  There's  only  one  thing  I  am  sure  of 
— 'that  I  must  say  this  much:  All  my  seeking  of 
you,  last  winter,  meant  the  full  intent  and  purpose 
to  win  you,  if  I  could.  And  —  you  can  never  know 
what  it  meant  to  me  to  give  it  up. " 

The  last  words  were  almost  below  his  breath, 
but  she  heard  them,  heard  the  uncontrollable, 
passionate  ache  of  them.  Plainer  than  the  words 
themselves  this  quality  in  them  spoke  for  him. 

For  a  moment  there  was  silence  between  them 
again.  Then  he  went  on:  "I  can't  ask  —  I  don't 
ask  —  a  word  from  you  in  answer.  Neither  can 
I  let  myself  say  more  than  I  am  saying.  It  wouldn't 


AFTER  DINNER  201 

be  fair  to  you,  however  you  might  feel.  And  I  want 
you  to  believe  this  —  that  not  to  say  more  takes 
every  bit  of  manhood  I  have." 

Silence  again.  Then,  from  the  woman  beside 
him,  in  the  clearest,  low  voice,  with  an  inflection 
of  deep  sweetness: 

"Thank  you,  Dr.  Leaver." 

Suddenly  he  turned  upon  the  bench  —  he  had 
been  staring  straight  before  him.  He  bent  close, 
looked  into  her  shadowy  face  for  a  moment,  then 
found  her  hand,  where  it  lay  in  her  lap,  lifted  it 
in  both  his  own,  and  pressed  it,  for  a  long,  tense 
moment,  against  his  lips.  She  felt  the  contact  burn 
against  the  cool  flesh,  and  it  made  intelligible  all 
that  he  would  not  allow  himself  to  say,  in  terms 
which  no  woman  could  mistake. 

Then  he  sprang  up  from  the  bench. 

"Will  you  walk  as  far  as  the  house  with  me?" 
he  asked,  gently.  "Or  shall  I  leave  you  here? 
It  is  late:  I  don't  quite  like  to  leave  you  here 
alone." 

"I  will  go  with  you,"  she  answered,  and,  rising, 
drew  her  skirts  about  her.  He  stood  beside  her 
for  a  moment,  looking  down  at  her  white  figure, 
outlined  against  the  darkness  behind  them.  She 
heard  him  take  one  deep,  slow  inspiration,  like  a 
swimmer  who  fills  his  lungs  before  plunging  into  the 
water;  she  heard  the  quick  release  of  the  breath, 


202  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

followed   by   his   voice,    saying,   with   an   effort   at 
naturalness: 

"If  I  had  such  a  place  as  this,  where  I'm  staying, 
I  should  be  tempted  to  bring  out  a  blanket  and 
sleep  in  it  to-night. " 

"One  might  do  worse,"  she  answered.  "These 
branches  have  been  so  long  untrimmed  that  it  takes 
a  heavy  shower  to  dampen  the  ground  beneath. " 

They  made  their  way  back  along  the  straggling 
paths,  and  came  to  the  cottage,  from  whose  windows 
streamed  the  lamplight  that  waited  for  Charlotte. 
As  it  fell  upon  her  Leaver  looked  at  her,  and  stood 
still.  Pausing,  she  glanced  up  at  him,  and  away 
again.  She  knew  that  he  was  silently  regarding 
her.  Quite  without  seeing  she  knew  how  his  face 
looked,  the  fine  face  with  the  eyes  which  seemed  to 
see  so  much,  the  firm  yet  sensitive  mouth,  the  whole 
virile  personality  held  in  a  powerful  restraint. 

Then  he  opened  the  door  for  her,  and  she  passed 
him.  She  looked  back  at  him  from  the  threshold. 

"Good-night,"  she  said,  and  smiled. 

"Good-night,"  he  answered,  and  gave  back  the 
smile.  Then  he  went  quickly  down  the  path  and 
away. 

Ten  minutes  afterward  she  put  out  the  light  in 
the  front  room,  and  stole  out  of  the  door,  leaving 
it  open  behind  her.  Still  in  the  white  gown  of  the 
evening,  but  with  a  long,  dark  cloak  flung  over  it, 


AFTER  DINNER  203 

she  went  swiftly  back  over  the  paths  to  the  garden 
bench.  Arrived  there  she  sat  down  upon  it,  where 
she  had  sat  before,  but  not  as  she  had  been.  Instead, 
she  turned  and  laid  her  arm  along  the  low  back  of 
the  bench,  and  her  head  upon  it,  and  remained 
motionless  in  that  position  for  a  long  time.  Her 
eyes  were  wide,  in  the  darkness,  and  her  lips  were 
pressed  tight  together,  and  once,  just  once,  a 
smothered,  struggling  breath  escaped  her.  But, 
finally,  she  sat  up,  threw  up  her  head,  lifted  both 
arms  above  it,  the  hands  clenched  tight. 

"Charlotte  Ruston,"  she  whispered  fiercely,  "you 
have  to  be  strong  —  and  strong  —  and  stronger 
yet!  You  have  to  be!  You  have  to  be!" 

Then  she  rose  quickly  to  her  feet,  with  a  motion 
not  unlike  that  with  which  John  Leaver  had  sprung 
to  his  an  hour  before.  It  was  a  movement  which 
meant  that  emotion  must  yield  to  action.  She 
went  swiftly  back  to  the  house,  in  at  the  door,  up  the 
straight,  high  stairs  to  her  room. 

As  she  lighted  her  candle  a  voice  spoke  from 
Madam  Chase's  room,  its  door  open  into  her  own. 

"Charlotte?" 

"Yes,  Granny?" 

The  girl  went  in,  taking  the  candle,  which  she 
set  upon  the  dressing-table.  She  bent  over  the  bed, 
putting  her  lips  close  to  the  old  lady's  ear. 

"Can't  you  sleep,  dear?"  she  asked. 


204  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

"Not  until  you  are  in,  child.  Why  are  you  so 
late?" 

"It's  not  late,  Granny.  You  know  I  went  to 
Dr.  Burns 's  to  dinner." 

"It's  very  late,"  repeated  the  delicate  old  voice, 
slightly  querulous,  because  of  its  owner's  failure 
to  hear  the  explanation.  "Much  too  late  for  a  girl 
like  you.  You  should  have  had  your  beauty  sleep 
long  ago. " 

Charlotte  smiled,  feeling  as  if  her  twenty-six  years 
had  added  another  ten  to  themselves  since  morning. 
She  patted  the  soft  cheek  on  the  pillow,  and  tenderly 
adjusted  the  gossamer  nightcap  which,  after  the 
fashion  of  its  wearer's  youth,  kept  the  white  locks 
snugly  in  order  during  the  sleeping  hours. 

"I'm  here  now,  Granny.  Please  go  to  sleep  right 
away.  Or  —  would  you  like  a  glass  of  milk  first?" 

"What  say?" 

"Milk,  dear,— hot  milk?" 

"Yes,  yes,  it  will  put  me  to  sleep.  Quite  hot, 
not  lukewarm. " 

Charlotte  went  down  the  steep  stairs  again, 
heated  the  milk,  and  brought  it  back.  When  it  had 
been  taken  she  kissed  the  small  face,  drew  the  linen 
sheet  smooth  again,  and  went  away  with  the  candle. 
In  her  own  room  she  presently  lay  down  upon  her  cot, 
rejoicing  that  the  old  lady  could  not  hear  its  creaking. 

Toward  morning  she  fell  asleep. 


CHAPTER  XII 

A  CHALLENGE 

MISSRUSTON!" 
"Yes?"      The  answer  came  through   the 
door  of  the  dark-room.     "I  can't  come  out  for  four 
minutes.      Can   you  give  me  the  message  through 
a  closed  door?" 

"Certainly,"  responded  Amy  Mathewson,  stand 
ing  outside.  She  was  dressed  for  motor  travel  and 
her  eyes  were  full  of  anticipation.  "Mr.  Macauley 
is  taking  some  of  us  out  to  meet  Dr.  Burns  at 
Sunny  Farm.  The  Doctor  has  telephoned  from 
there  that  he  would  be  very  glad  if  you  could  come 
with  us,  bring  your  camera,  and  take  some  photo 
graphs  of  a  patient  for  him. " 

"Delighted  —  if  I  can  arrange  for  Granny," 
Charlotte  called  back. 

"Mrs.  Burns's  Cynthia  will  stay  with  her." 

"How  soon  must  we  start?" 

"As  soon  as  you  can  be  ready." 

"Give  me  ten  minutes,  and  I'll  be  there." 

The  big  brown  car  was  waiting  outside  the  hedge 
gate  when,  nearly  as  good  as  her  word,  Charlotte 

205 


206  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

ran  down  the  path.  She  had  pulled  a  long  linen 
coat  over  her  blue  morning  dress,  and  a  veil  floated 
over  her  arm 

"Dear  me,  you  all  look  so  correct  in  your  bonnets 
and  caps!  Must  I  tie  up  my  head,  or  may  I  leave 
off  the  veil  until  my  hair  gets  to  looking  wild?" 

"It  never  looked  wild  yet  that  I  can  recall,  so 
jump  in  and  go  as  you  please.  It's  too  hot  for  caps, 
and  I'll  keep  you  company,"  responded  Macauley, 
from  the  front  seat.  His  wife,  Martha,  sat  beside 
him,  swathed  in  brown  from  head  to  foot.  Martha 
had  acquired  a  motoring  costume  which  she  con 
sidered  matched  the  car  and  was  particularly  smart 
besides,  and  she  seldom  left  off  any  detail,  no  matter 
how  warm  the  day.  Martha  looked  around  as 
Charlotte  took  her  place  beside  Miss  Mathewson 
on  the  broad  rear  seat.  The  two  swinging  seats 
which  equipped  the  car  to  carry  seven  passengers 
were  occupied  by  Bobby  Burns  and  young  Tom 
Macauley. 

"People  who  have  hair  like  Miss  Ruston  can  go 
bareheaded  where  the  rest  of  us  have  to  tie  ourselves 
together  to  keep  from  blowing  away,"  observed 
Martha. 

Her  husband  laughed.  "I  never  heard  you  own 
quite  so  frankly  before  that  parts  of  you  were  detach 
able,"  said  he. 

"They're  not!"  cried  Martha,  indignantly.     "But 


A  CHALLENGE  207 

Miss  Ruston's  hair  is  that  crisp,  half  curly  sort  that 
stays  just  where  you  put  it,  and  mine  is  so  straight 
and  fine  that  it  gets  stringy.  It  makes  all  the 
difference  in  the  world. " 

The  car  moved  off.  After  a  minute  it  turned 
a  corner  and  came  to  a  standstill  before  a  house. 
Macauley  sounded  a  penetrating  horn,  and  after  a 
minute  the  door  opened  and  John  Leaver  came  out. 

"Come  on,  Doctor,"  called  Macauley.  "R.  P. 
has  been  telephoning  in,  in  the  usual  fever  of  haste, 
to  have  us  get  out  there.  It  seems  the  place  is  in 
order  and  two  patients  have  arrived.  He  wants 
a  doctor,  nurse,  and  photographer  on  the  job  at  once. 
Find  a  place  on  the  back  seat,  there?" 

Leaver  came  quickly  down  the  walk.  He  looked 
like  a  well  man  now,  whether  he  felt  like  a  well  one 
or  not.  He  had  gained  in  weight,  his  face  had  lost 
its  worn  look,  his  eyes  were  no  longer  encompassed 
by  shadows.  The  sun  was  in  his  eyes  as  he  opened 
the  rear  door  and  prepared  to  take  the  one  seat  left 
in  the  car,  that  beside  Charlotte  Ruston,  who  had 
moved  to  one  side  as  she  saw  what  was  about  to 
happen.  Her  shoulder  pressed  close  against  that 
of  Miss  Mathewson,  she  left  so  large  a  space  for  the 
newcomer. 

After  the  first  exchange  of  small  talk,  it  was  a 
silent  drive.  Macauley  was  making  haste  to  obey 
the  summons  he  had  received,  and  the  rush  of  air 


208  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

past  those  in  the  car  with  him  was  not  conducive 
to  frequent  speech.  Soon  after  they  were  off 
Charlotte  drew  her  big  white  veil  over  her  head  and 
face,  and  was  lost  to  view  beneath  its  protecting 
expanse.  One  of  the  veil's  fluttering  ends  persisted 
in  blowing  across  Leaver's  breast,  quite  unnoticed 
by  its  owner,  whose  head  did  not  often  turn  that 
way.  The  man  did  not  put  it  aside,  but  after  a 
time  he  took  hold  of  it  and  kept  it  in  his  hand, 
secure  from  the  domineering  breeze. 

"Here  we  are!  Behold  Sunny  Farm,  the  dream 
of  Doctor  and  Mrs.  Red  Pepper,  given  tangible 
shape.  Not  a  bad-looking  old  rambling  place, 
is  it?" 

Macauley  brought  his  car  to  rest  beside  the  long 
green  roadster  already  there.  Its  occupants  jumped 
out  and  strolled  up  the  slope  toward  the  white 
farmhouse,  across  whose  front  and  wing  stretched 
long  porches,  on  one  of  which  stood  a  steamer  chair 
and  a  white  iron  bed,  each  holding  a  small  form. 
Upon  the  step  sat  Ellen  Burns  and  a  nurse  in  a  white 
uniform;  by  the  bed  stood  Burns  himself. 

Miss  Mathewson's  observant  eyes  were  taking 
veiled  note  of  her  recent  charge  as  he  went  up  the 
steps  and  approached  the  bed.  The  little  patient 
upon  it  had  not  lifted  his  head,  as  had  the  child  in 
the  chair,  to  see  who  was  at  hand. 

"Oh,  the  little  pitiful  face!"  breathed  Charlotte 


A  CHALLENGE  209 

Ruston  in  Amy's  ear,  as  she  looked  down  into  a  pair 
of  great  black  eyes,  set  in  hollows  so  deep  that  they 
seemed  the  chiseling  of  merciless  pain. 

"This  is  Jamie  Ferguson,"  said  Burns,  with  his 
hand  on  the  boy's  head.  "He  is  very  happy  to  be 
here  in  the  sunshine,  so  you  are  not  to  pity  him. 
Come  here,  Bob,  and  tell  Jamie  you  will  play  with 
him  when  he  is  stronger.  He  knows  wonderful 
things,  does  Jamie.  And  this  is  Patsy  Kelly,  in  the 
chair." 

There  was  a  pleasant  little  scene  now  enacted 
upon  the  porch,  in  which  Bob  and  Tom  were  intro 
duced  to  the  small  patients,  and  everybody  looked  on 
while  shy  advances  were  made  by  the  well  children, 
to  be  received  with  timid  gravity  by  the  sick  ones. 
Through  it  all  Red  Pepper  Burns  was  furtively 
observing  the  demeanour  of  Dr.  John  Leaver. 

He  had  hardly  taken  his  eyes  from  Jamie  Ferguson. 
Into  his  face  had  come  a  look  his  friend  had  not  seen 
there  since  he  had  been  with  him,  the  look  of  the 
expert  professional  man  who  sees  before  him  a  case 
which  interests  him.  He  stood  and  studied  the 
child  without  speaking  while  Bob  and  Tom  re 
mained,  and  when  the  small  boys,  too  full  of  activity 
to  stay  contentedly  with  other  boys  who  could  not 
play,  were  off  to  explore  the  place,  Leaver  drew 
up  a  chair  and  sat  down  beside  the  bed. 

Burns  glanced  at  his  wife,  and  gave  a  significant 


210  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

nod  of  his  head  toward  the  interior  of  the  house. 
Ellen  rose. 

"Come  Martha,  and  Charlotte,"  said  she,  "and 
let  me  show  you  over  the  rooms.  I'm  so  proud  of 
the  progress  we  have  made  in  the  fortnight  since 
the  house  was  vacated  for  us. " 

She  led  them  inside.  Amy  Mathewson  went  over 
to  the  chair  and  Patsy  Kelly,  turning  her  back  upon 
the  pair  by  the  bed. 

"When  did  you  come,  Patsy?"  she  asked. 

"We  come  the  morn,"  said  Patsy,  a  pale  little 
fellow  of  nine,  with  a  shock  of  hair  so  red  that 
beside  it  that  of  Red  Pepper  Burns  would  have 
looked  a  subdued  chestnut.  "In  the  ambilunce 
we  come.  I  liked  the  ride,  but  Jamie  didn't.  He 
was  scared  of  bein'  moved. " 

"Jamie  is  not  so  well  as  you.  How  fine  it  is  that 
you  can  lie  in  this  chair  and  have  your  head  up. 
You  can  see  all  about.  Isn't  it  beautiful  here?" 

"It  is.  I'm  glad  I  come.  He  said  I'd  be  glad, 
but  I  didn't  believe  him.  I  didn't  know,"  said 
Patsy  Kelly,  with  a  sigh  of  satisfaction.  "I  had 
mate  and  pitaty  for  breakfast  the  morn, "  he  added, 
and  rapture  shone  out  of  his  eyes. 

By  the  side  of  Jamie  Ferguson  Dr.  John  Leaver 
was  telling  a  story.  He  was  apparently  telling  it 
to  Dr.  Burns,  who  listened  with  great  interest,  but 
at  the  same  time  shy  Jamie  Ferguson  was  listening 


"O 


-3  .H 


A  CHALLENGE  211 

too.  There  were  curious  points  in  the  story  when 
the  narrator  turned  to  the  boy  in  the  bed  and 
inquired,  smiling:  " Could  you  do  that,  Jamie?" 
to  which  questions  Jamie  usually  replied  in  the 
negative.  They  were  mostly  questions  concerning 
backs  and  legs  and  hips,  and  the  boy  in  the  story 
seemed  to  find  difficulty  in  using  his,  too,  which  made 
Jamie  feel  a  strong  interest  in  him.  Altogether  it 
was  a  fascinating  tale.  When  it  was  over  the  two 
men  walked  away  together  down  the  slope,  and 
between  them  passed  other  questions  and  answers, 
of  a  sort  which  Jamie  could  not  have  understood. 

Down  by  the  gate  Leaver  came  to  a  pause,  nodding 
his  head  in  a  thoughtful  way.  "You  are  quite  right, 
I  believe,  both  in  your  conclusions  and  in  your  plan 
for  operation.  I  should  go  ahead  without  further 
delay  than  is  necessary  to  get  him  into  a  bit  better 
condition." 

"I  thought  you  would  agree  with  me,"  Burns 
replied.  "I'm  gratified  that  you  do.  But  Fm 
not  going  to  operate.  IVe  got  a  better  man: 
Leaver,  of  Baltimore." 

The  other  turned  quickly.  A  strange  look  swept 
over  his  face. 

"I  told  you  my  decision  about  that,"  he  said. 

"I  know  you  did.  But  I  told  you  some  time 
ago  about  this  case,  and  warned  you  that  it  was 
your  case.  I  haven't  changed  my  mind. " 


212  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

Leaver  shook  his  head.  "I  haven't  changed 
mine,  either.  But  I  didn't  know  this  was  the  case 
you  meant.  If  I  had  I  shouldn't  have  gone  to  exam 
ining  it  without  an  invitation. " 

"You  had  an  invitation.  That  was  what  I  got 
you  out  here  this  morning  for.  I  didn't  bring  you 
myself  because  I  didn't  want  you  steeling  yourself 
against  looking  into  it,  as  you  would  if  I  had  told 
you  about  it  on  the  way  out.  My  plan  worked 
all  right.  The  minute  you  saw  the  child  your 
instincts  and  training  got  the  better  of  your  caution. 
That's  what  they'll  continue  to  do  if  you  give  them 
a  chance.  See  here,  you  don't  mean  to  quit  your 
profession  and  take  to  carpentry,  do  you?" 

"I  expect  to  practise  medicine,"  Leaver  said,  and 
there  was  a  queer  setting  of  his  lips  as  he  said  it. 

"Medicine!     You?     Jack,  you  couldn't  do  it. " 

"Couldn't  I?  I  don't  know  that  I  could." 
He  drew  a  half  shuddering  breath.  "But  I  can 
try,  somewhere,  if  not  in  Baltimore. " 

"I'd  like  to  thrash  you!"  cried  Red  Pepper  Burns, 
and  he  looked  it.  "Standing  there  the  picture  of  a 
healthy  man  and  telling  me  you're  going  to  take  to 
doling  out  pills  and  writing  prescriptions.  .  .  . 
See  here.  We've  put  in  a  little  surgery  up  there 
in  the  north  wing,  it's  a  peach  of  a  place.  Come 
and  see  it." 

He  led  the  way  rapidly  back  up  to  the  house,  in 


A  CHALLENGE  213 

at  the  door  and  up  the  stairs.  At  the  end  of  a  long 
corridor  he  threw  open  the  door  of  a  small  room, 
whose  whole  northern  side  was  of  glass.  Its  equip 
ment  was  as  complete  as  could  be  asked  by  the 
most  exacting  of  operating  surgeons. 

"Good!"  Leaver  cried,  quite  forgetting  himself 
for  the  moment.  "  I  had  no  idea  you  meant  to  carry 
things  so  far  as  this.  Fine!" 

"Isn't  it?  Could  you  have  a  better  place  to 
try  your  hand  again?  Nobody  looking  on  but 
Amy  Mathewson,  Miss  Dodge  —  whom  you  met 
downstairs  —  and  Dr.  Buller  —  for  the  anaesthetic. 
Buller's  the  best  anaesthetizer  in  the  state  and  a 
splendid  fellow  besides.  Also  my  humble  self,  ready 
to  be  your  right-hand  man.  I  promise  you  this, — 
if  the  least  thing  goes  wrong  —  and  you  ask  it  — 
I'll  take  your  place  without  a  word.  Jack,  the  case 
is  one  that  needs  you.  I've  never  done  this  opera 
tion:  you  have.  YouVe  written  a  monograph  on 
it.  It's  up  to  you,  John  Leaver.  I  don't  dare  you 
to  do  it,  I  dare  you  not  to  do  it!  " 

For  the  first  time,  in  response  to  his  arguments  on 
this  subject,  Burns  got  no  answer  but  silence.  But 
his  friend's  face  was  slowly  flushing  a  deep,  angry 
red.  At  this  sight  Burns  rejoiced.  His  theory  had 
been  that  if  he  could  wake  something  in  Leaver 
besides  deep  depression  and  sad  negation  he  had  a 
chance  to  influence  him.  He  believed  thoroughly 


214  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

that  if  he  could  force  the  distinguished  young 
surgeon  through  one  successful  operation  confidence 
would  return  like  an  incoming  tide.  He  had  hoped 
that  the  pathetic  sight  of  the  little  malformed  body 
of  Jamie  Ferguson  would  arouse  the  passion  for 
salvage  which  lies  in  the  breast  of  every  man  who 
practises  the  great  profession;  he  saw  that  thus 
far  his  plan  had  succeeded.  Now  to  accomplish 
the  rest. 

"Suppose, "  said  Leaver,  turning  slowly  toward  the 
other  man,  "I  agree  to  stand  beside  you  and  direct 
the  operation?" 

It  was  Burns's  turn  to  colour  angrily,  his  quick 
temper  leaping  to  fire  in  an  instant. 

"Not  much!  Let  every  tub  stand  on  its  own 
bottom!  Either  I  do  the  job  or  I  don't  do  it;  but 
I  don't  take  the  part  of  an  apprentice.  I'll  agree 
to  play  second  fiddle  to  you,  with  you  playing  first. 
But  I'll  be  —  condemned  —  if  I'll  play  first,  with  a 
coach  at  my  elbow.  Take  that  and  be  hanged  to 
you!" 

He  walked  over  to  the  open  window,  threw  back 
the  screen  and  put  his  head  out,  as  if  he  needed  air 
to  breathe.  Leaver  was  at  his  side  in  an  instant. 

"I  beg  your  pardon,  my  dear  fellow,  I  do  sincerely. 
It  was  an  unworthy  suggestion,  and  I  don't  blame 
you  for  resenting  it.  Nobody  needs  help  less  than 
you.  You  could  do  the  operation  brilliantly.  That's 


A  CHALLENGE  215 

why  there's  no  need  in  the  world  to  force  me  into  the 
situation  —  no  need " 

Burns  wheeled.  "There  is  need!  There's  need 
for  you  —  to  save  your  soul  alive.  You've  been  no 
coward  so  far  —  your  overworked  nerves  played 
you  a  trick  and  you've  had  to  recover.  But  you 
have  recovered,  you  are  fit  to  work  again.  //  you 
don't  do  this  thing  you  'II  be  a  coward  forever!" 

It  bit  deep,  as  he  had  known  it  would.  If  he  had 
struck  a  knife  into  his  friend's  heart  he  could  not 
have  caused  so  sharp  a  hurt.  Leaver  turned  white 
under  this  surgery  of  speech,  and  for  an  instant  he 
looked  as  if  he  would  have  sprung  at  Burns's  throat. 
There  followed  sixty  silent  seconds  while  both  men 
stood  like  statues.  But  the  merciless  judgment 
had  turned  the  scale.  With  a  control  of  himself 
which  struck  Burns,  as  he  recalled  it  afterward,  as 
marvellous,  Leaver  answered  evenly:  "You  shall 
not  have  the  chance  to  say  that  again.  I  will 
operate  when  you  think  best." 

"Thank  God!"  said  Red  Pepper  Burns,  under 
his  breath. 

The  two  walked  out  of  the  little  white  room,  with 
its  austere  and  absolute  cleanliness,  without  another 
word  concerning  that  which  was  to  come.  Burns 
took  his  friend  over  the  house,  and  Leaver  looked 
into  room  after  room,  approving,  commending,  even 
suggesting,  quite  as  if  nothing  had  happened.  And 


216  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

yet,  after  all,  not  quite  as  if  nothing  had  hap 
pened.  He  was  not  the  same  man  who  had  come 
out  to  Sunny  Farm  an  hour  before.  Burns  knew, 
as  well  as  if  he  could  have  seen  into  Leaver's  mind, 
the  conflict  that  was  going  on  there.  The  thing 
was  settled,  he  would  not  retreat,  yet  there  was 
still  a  fight  to  be  fought  —  the  biggest  fight  of  his 
life.  On  its  issue  was  to  depend  the  success  or  failure 
of  the  coming  test.  Burns's  warm  heart  would  have 
led  him  to  speak  sympathetically  and  encouragingly 
of  the  issue  to  be  met;  his  understanding  of  the 
crisis  it  precipitated  kept  him  mute.  Whatever 
help  he  was  now  to  give  his  friend  must  be  given, 
not  through  speech  but  through  silence,  and  by  that 
subtler  means  of  communication  between  spirit  and 
spirit  which  cannot  be  analyzed  or  understood,  but 
which  may  be  more  real  than  anything  in  life. 

They  went  downstairs,  presently,  and  rejoined 
the  party.  Miss  Ruston  and  Miss  Mathewson, 
Mr.  James  Macauley  and  his  son  Tom,  with  Bobby 
Burns,  were  engaged  in  a  spirited  game  of  "puss 
in  a  corner, "  for  the  benefit  of  Patsy  Kelly,  who  lay 
looking  on  from  his  chair  with  sparkling,  excited 
eyes.  Beside  Jamie  Ferguson,  who  could  not  see, 
Mrs.  Burns  sat,  describing  to  him  the  game  and 
interpreting  the  shouts  of  laughter  which  reached 
his  ears  as  he  lay,  too  flat  upon  his  back  to  see  what 
was  happening  twenty  feet  away. 


A  CHALLENGE  217 

Ellen  looked  up,  as  her  husband  approached, 
and  something  in  his  face  made  her  regard  him  in 
tently.  He  smiled  at  her,  his  hazel  eyes  dark  as 
they  often  were  when  something  had  stirred  him 
deeply,  and  she  guessed  enough  of  the  meaning  of 
this  aspect  to  keep  her  from  looking  at  Dr.  Leaver 
until  he  had  been  for  some  time  upon  the  porch. 

When  she  did  observe  him,  he  was  standing, 
leaning  against  a  pillar  and  looking  at  the  wan 
little  face  below  her,  from  a  point  at  which  Jamie 
could  not  know  of  his  scrutiny.  His  back  was 
turned  upon  the  game  upon  the  grass,  though  the 
others  were  watching  it.  When  it  ended  Burns 
called  Charlotte  Ruston  to  the  taking  of  the  photo 
graphs  he  wanted  —  snapshots  of  the  two  little 
patients  carried  into  the  full  sunlight.  This  being 
quickly  accomplished,  he  announced  his  own  im 
mediate  departure. 

"Will  you  go  back  with  me  in  the  Imp,  or  at  your 
leisure  with  the  crowd  in  the  car?"  Burns  asked 
Leaver,  in  an  undertone.  "My  wife  will  be  glad  to  go 
in  either  car;  she  suggested  your  taking  your  choice." 

"If  the  Macauleys  will  not  misunderstand,  I 
should  prefer  to  go  with  you, "  Leaver  replied. 

"They  won't.  Two  medicine-men  are  supposed 
always  to  wish  for  a  chance  to  hobnob,  and  we'll 
put  it  on  that  score.  I  really  want  to  consult  you 
about  Patsy's  case." 


2i8  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

"Not  going  with  us?  Willing  to  forsake  three 
fair  ladies  for  one  red-headed  fiend,  just  because 
you  know  he's  going  to  give  us  his  dust?  I  like  that! " 
cried  Macauley,  who  could  be  trusted  never  to  make 
things  easy  for  his  friends. 

"Abuse  him  as  you  like.  He's  off  with  me  at 
my  request,"  called  Burns,  pulling  out  into  the  road 
and  turning  with  a  sweep. 

Martha  Macauley  looked  after  the  Green  Imp's 
rapidly  lessening  shape  through  the  dust-cloud 
which  it  left  behind.  "I  never  thought  till  to-day 
that  Dr.  Leaver  seemed  the  least  bit  like  a  noted 
surgeon,"  said  she,  as  they  waited  for  Macauley  to 
get  his  car  underway.  "I  could  never  imagine  his 
acting  like  Red,  and  rushing  enthusiastically  from 
bedside  to  operating-room,  pushing  everything  out 
of  his  way  to  make  time  to  cut  somebody  to  pieces 
and  sew  him  up  again,  for  his  ultimate  good.  But 
to-day  somehow,  he  seemed  more  —  what  would  you 
call  it  —  professional?" 

"That's  the  word,"  her  husband  agreed.  "It's 
the  word  they  juggle  with.  If  a  thing's  'pro 
fessional,'  it's  all  right.  If  it's  not,  it  may  as  well 
be  condemned  to  outer  darkness  at  once. " 


CHAPTER  XIII 

A  CRISIS 

EITLE  wife?" 
"Yes,  Redfield  Pepper " 

"I'm  as  nervous  as  a  cat  up  a  tree  with  a  couple 
of  dogs  at  the  foot!" 

"Why,  Red,  I  never  heard  you  talk  of  being 
nervous!  What  does  it  mean?" 

"An  operation  to-morrow." 

"But  you  never  are  *  nervous,'  dear." 

"I  am  now." 

"Is  it  such  a  critical  one?" 

"The  most  critical  I  ever  faced." 

Ellen  looked  at  her  husband,  or  tried  to  look, 
for  they  were  moving  slowly  along  the  street,  at 
a  late  hour,  Burns  having  suggested  a  short  walk 
before  bedtime.  It  was  quite  dark,  and  Ellen 
could  judge  only  by  her  husband's  voice  that  he 
spoke  with  entire  soberness. 

"Can  you  tell  me  anything  about  it?"  she  sug 
gested,  knowing  that  relief  from  tension  sometimes 
comes  with  speech.  Any  confession  of  nervousness 
from  Red  Pepper  Burns  seemed  to  her  most  extra- 

219 


220  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

ordinary.  She  knew  that  he  often  worked  under 
tremendous  tension,  but  he  had  never  before  ad 
mitted  shakiness  of  nerve. 

"Not  much,  if  anything  at  all.  It's  a  partic 
ularly  private  affair,  for  the  present.  It's  a  queer 
operation,  too.  I  may  not  handle  a  knife,  tie  an 
artery,  or  stitch  up  a  wound  —  may  do  less  than 
I  ever  did  in  my  life  on  such  an  occasion,  yet  — 
I'll  be  hanged  if  I'm  not  feeling  as  owly  about  it  as 
if  it  were  the  first  time  I  ever  expected  to  see  blood. " 

Ellen  put  her  hand  on  his  arm,  slipped  it  into  the 
curve,  and  kept  it  there,  while  he  held  it  pressed 
close  against  him.  "Red,  have  you  been  working 
too  hard  lately?"  she  asked. 

"Not  a  bit.  I'm  fit  as  a  fiddler.  Don't  worry, 
love.  I've  no  business  to  talk  riddles  to  you,  of 
all  people.  But  for  a  peculiar  reason  I'm  horribly 
anxious  about  the  outcome  of  to-morrow's  experi 
ment,  and  had  to  work  it  off  somehow.  Just  prom 
ise  me  that  when  you  say  your  prayers  to-night 
you'll  ask  the  good  God  not  to  let  me  be  mistaken 
in  forcing  a  situation  I  may  not  be  able  to  control. " 

"I  will,"  Ellen  promised,  with  all  her  heart,  for 
she  saw  that,  whatever  the  crisis  might  be,  it  was 
one  to  which  her  usually  daring  husband  was  look 
ing  forward  with  most  uncharacteristic  dread. 

She  was  conscious  that  Burns  spent  a  restless 
night.  At  daybreak  he  was  up  and  out  of  the  house. 


A  CRISIS  221 

Before  he  went,  however,  he  bent  over  her  and 
kissed  her  with  great  tenderness,  murmuring, 
"A  prayer  or  two  more,  darling,  won't  hurt  any 
thing,  when  you  are  awake  enough.  I've  particular 
faith  in  your  petitions." 

She  held  him  with  both  arms. 

"Don't  worry,  Red.  It  isn't  like  you.  You  will 
succeed,  if  it  is  to  be. " 

"It's  got  to  be,"  he  said  between  his  teeth,  as  he 
left  her. 

He  swallowed  a  cup  of  Cynthia's  hot  coffee  — 
bespoken  the  night  before,  as  on  many  similar 
occasions  —  and  ran  out  to  his  car  just  as  the  slow 
September  sunrise  broke  into  the  eastern  sky.  In 
two  minutes  more  he  was  off  in  the  Imp,  flying  out 
the  road  to  Sunny  Farm. 

Arrived  there  he  astonished  Miss  Dodge,  the 
nurse  in  charge,  who  was  not  accustomed  to  Dr. 
Burns's  ways.  He  had  left  the  small  patient, 
Jamie  Ferguson,  the  night  before,  entirely  satisfied 
with  his  condition  for  undergoing  the  operation  set 
for  nine  o'clock  this  morning.  He  now  went  once 
more  painstakingly  over  every  detail  of  the  prep 
aration  he  had  ordered,  making  sure  for  himself  that 
nothing  had  been  omitted. 

Then  he  called  for  Miss  Mathewson,  who  had 
spent  the  night  at  the  Farm.  She  was  to  assist 
Leaver  as  she  was  accustomed  to  assist  Burns. 


222  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

He  took  her  off  by  herself  and  addressed  her  sol 
emnly,  more  solemnly  than  he  had  ever  done. 

"Amy,  if  you  ever  had  your  wits  on  call,  have 
them  this  morning.  In  all  my  life  I  never  cared 
more  how  things  went  at  a  time  like  this.  I  care 
so  much  I'd  give  about  all  I  own  to  know  this  minute 
that  the  thing  would  go  through. " 

"Why,  Dr.  Burns,"  said  she,  in  astonishment,  "it 
should  go  through.  It  is  a  critical  operation,  of 
course,  but  the  boy  seems  in  very  fair  shape  for  it, 
and  Dr.  Leaver  has  done  it  before.  Dr.  Leaver  is 
quite  well  now " 

"  I  know,  I  know.     Feel  of  that ! " 

He  touched  her  hand  with  his  own,  which  was 
icy  cold.  She  started,  and  looked  anxiously  at 
him. 

"Doctor,  you  can't  be  well!  This  isn't  you  —  to 
be  so  —  nervous!  Why,  think  of  all  the  operations 
you've  done,  and  never  a  sign  of  minding.  And  this 
isn't  even  your  responsibility  —  it's  Dr.  Leaver's." 

"That's  right,  scold  me,"  said  he,  trying  to  laugh. 
"It's  what  I  need.  I'm  showing  the  white  feather, 
a  hatful  of  them.  But  you're  mistaken  about  one 
thing.  It  is  my  responsibility,  every  detail  of  it. 
Don't  forget  that.  If  the  case  goes  wrong,  it's  my 
fault,  not  Dr.  Leaver's. " 

Then  he  walked  away,  leaving  Miss  Mathew- 
son  utterly  dumbfounded.  She  understood  perfectly 


A  CRISIS  223 

that  Dr.  John  Leaver  had  suffered  a  severe  break 
down  from  overwork,  and  that  this  was  his  first  test 
since  his  recovery.  But  she  knew  nothing  of  the 
peculiar  circumstances  of  his  last  appearance  in 
an  operating-room,  and  could  therefore  have  no 
possible  notion  of  the  crisis  this  morning's  work 
was  to  be  to  him.  She  did  know  enough,  however, 
to  be  deeply  interested  in  the  outcome,  and  she 
watched  the  Green  Imp  flying  down  the  road  toward 
home  with  the  sense  that  when  it  returned  it  would 
bear  two  surgeons  for  whom  she  must  do  the  best 
work  of  support  in  her  life. 

"Ready,  Jack?" 

"Ready." 

John  Leaver  took  the  seat  beside  Burns,  giving 
the  outstretched  hand  a  strong  grip.  He  carried 
no  hand-bag,  there  was  no  sign  of  his  profession 
about  him.  He  had  sent  to  Baltimore  for  his  own 
instruments,  but  they  were  waiting  for  him  in  the 
little  operating-room  at  Sunny  Farm,  having  been 
through  every  rite  practised  by  modern  surgery. 

The  car  set  off. 

"It's  a  magnificent  morning,"  said  Red  Pepper 
Burns. 

"Ideal." 

"September's  the  best  month  in  the  year,  to 
my  fancy." 

"A  crisp  October  rivals  it,  to  my  notion." 


224  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

"Not  bad.  There's  a  touch  of  frost  in  the  air 
this  morning. " 

"Quite  a  touch." 

The  car  sped  on.  The  men  were  silent.  His  one 
glance  at  his  friend's  face  had  showed  Burns  that 
Leaver  had,  apparently,  his  old  quiet  command 
of  himself.  But  this,  though  reassuring,  he  knew 
could  not  be  trusted  as  an  absolute  indication  of 
control  within.  For  himself,  he  had  never  been 
so  profoundly  excited  in  his  life.  He  found  himself 
wondering  how  he  was  going  to  stand  and  look  on, 
unemployed,  yet  ready,  at  a  sign,  to  take  the  helm. 
He  felt  as  if  that  moment,  if  it  should  come,  would 
find  him  as  unnerved  as  the  man  he  must  help. 
Yet,  with  all  his  heart  and  will,  he  was  silently 
assuring  himself  that  all  would  go  well  —  must  go 
well.  He  must  not  even  fear  failure,  think  failure, 
imagine  failure.  Strong  confidence  on  his  own  part, 
he  fully  believed,  would  be  definite,  if  intangible, 
assistance  to  his  friend.  .  . 

Rounding  a  curve  in  the  road,  the  white  outlines 
of  Sunny  Farm  house  stood  out  clearly  against  the 
background  of  near  green  fields,  and  distant  purple 
hills. 

"House  gets  the  sun  in  great  shape  mornings,5' 
observed  Burns. 

"The  location  couldn't  be  better,"  responded 
Leaver's  quiet  voice. 


A  CRISIS  225 

The  car  swung  into  the  yard.  The  two  men  got 
out,  crossed  the  sward,  and  stood  upon  the  porch. 
Miss  Mathewson  met  them  at  the  door,  her  face 
bright,  her  eyes  clear,  only  a  little  flush  on  either 
cheek  betraying  to  Burns  that  she  shared  his  tension. 

"Jamie  seems  in  the  best  of  condition,"  said  she. 

"That's  good  —  that's  good,"  Burns  answered, 
as  if  he  had  not  made  sure  of  the  fact  for  himself 
within  the  hour. 

"I  will  go  in  and  see  him  a  minute,"  Leaver  said, 
and  disappeared  into  Jamie  Ferguson's  room. 

Outside  Burns  walked  up  and  down  the  corridor, 
waiting,  in  a  restlessness  upon  which  he  suddenly 
laid  a  stern  decree.  He  stopped  short  and  forced 
himself  to  stand  still. 

"You  idiot,"  he  savagely  addressed  himself, 
"you  act  like  a  fool  medical  student  detailed  to  give 
an  anaesthetic  at  a  noted  surgeon's  clinic  for  the 
first  time.  Cut  it,  and  behave  yourself. " 

After  which  he  was  guilty  of  no  more  outward 
perturbation,  and,  naturally,  of  somewhat  less  inner 
turmoil. 

"Satisfied?"  he  asked  of  Leaver,  as  the  other 
came  out  of  Jamie's  room. 

Leaver  nodded.  "Rather  better  than  I  had  hoped. 
He's  a  plucky  little  chap. " 

"You're  right,  he  is." 

The   two   went   up   to   the  dressing-room.     Half 


226  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

an  hour  later,  clad  in  white  from  head  to  foot,  arms 
bare  and  gleaming,  hands  gloved,  allowing  assistants 
to  open  and  close  doors  for  them  lest  the  slightest 
contamination  affect  their  rigid  cleanliness,  they 
came  into  the  operating-room.  For  the  moment 
they  were  left  alone  there,  while  the  nurses  went 
to  summon  the  bearer  of  the  little  patient.  It  was 
the  moment  Burns  had  dreaded,  the  stillness  before 
action  which  most  tries  the  spirit  at  any  crisis. 

He  could  not  help  giving  one  quick  glance  at  his 
friend  before  he  turned  away  to  look  out  of  the 
window  with  eyes  which  saw  nothing  outside  it. 
In  that  instant's  glance  he  thought  the  old  Leaver 
stood  before  him,  cool,  collected,  armed  to  the  teeth, 
as  it  were,  for  the  fight,  and  looking  forward  to  it 
with  eagerness.  There  had  been  possibly  a  slight 
pallor  upon  his  face,  as  Miss  Dodge  had  adjusted 
his  mask  of  gauze,  but,  as  Burns  recalled  it,  this  was 
a  common  matter  with  many  surgeons,  and  it  might 
easily  have  been  characteristic  of  Leaver  himself, 
even  though  Burns  had  not  remembered  it.  His 
own  heart  was  thumping  heavily  in  his  breast,  as 
it  had  never  thumped  when  he  had  been  the  chief 
actor  in  the  coming  scene. 

"Lord,  make  him  go  through  all  right,"  he  was 
praying,  almost  unconsciously,  while  he  eyed  the 
September  landscape  unseeingly,  and  listened  for 
the  sound  of  the  stretcher  bearers.  .  .  . 


A  CRISIS  227 

As  they  came  in  at  the  door  Burns  turned,  and 
saw,  or  thought  he  saw,  Leaver  draw  one  deep,  long 
breath.  Then,  in  a  minute  or  so,  the  fight  was  on. 
He  remembered,  of  old,  that  there  was  never  much 
delay  after  the  distinguished  surgeon  saw  his  patient 
before  him,  had  assured  himself  that  all  was  well 
with  the  working  of  the  anaesthetic,  and  had  taken 
up  his  first  instrument.  ... 

Swift  and  sure  moved  Leaver's  hands,  obeying  the 
swift,  sure  working  of  his  brain.  There  was  not 
a  moment's  indecision.  More  than  one  moment 
of  deliberation  there  was,  but  Burns,  watching, 
knew  as  well  as  if  his  friend  had  been  a  part  of 
himself  that  the  brief  pauses  in  his  work  were  a 
part  of  the  work  itself,  and  meant  that  as  his  task 
unfolded  before  him  he  stopped  to  weigh  feasible 
courses,  choosing  with  unerring  judgment  the  better 
of  two  possible  alternatives,  and  proceeding  with  the 
confidence  essential  to  the  unfaltering  touch.  As 
Burns  beheld  the  process  pass  the  point  of  greatest 
danger  and  approach  conclusion,  he  felt  somewhat 
as  a  man  may  who,  unable  to  help,  watches  a 
swimmer  breasting  tremendous  seas,  and  sees  him 
win  past  the  last  smother  of  breakers  and  make 
his  way  into  calmer  waters.  He  was  conscious 
that  he  himself  had  been  breathing  shallowly  as  he 
watched,  and  now  drew  several  deep  inspirations 
of  relief. 


228  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

"By  George,  that  was  the  gamest  thing  I  ever 
saw,"  thought  Burns,  exultingly.  "He  hasn't 
shown  the  slightest  sign  of  flinching.  And  Amy 
Mathewson  —  she's  played  up  to  every  move  like 
a  little  second  brain  of  his." 

He  looked  at  the  small  clock  on  a  shelf  of  the 
surgery,  and  his  head  swam.  "He's  outdone  him 
self,"  he  nearly  cried  aloud.  "This  will  stand 
beside  anything  he's  ever  done.  If  he'd  been 
slower  than  usual  it  would  have  been  only  natural, 
after  this  interval,  but  he's  been  faster.  Oh,  but  I'm 
glad  — glad!" 

The  event  was  over.  Both  Leaver  and  Burns, 
no  longer  under  the  necessity  of  avoiding  contact 
with  things  unsterilized,  felt  the  small  patient's 
pulse  and  nodded  at  each  other.  The  assistants 
bore  Jamie  Ferguson's  little  inert  body  away, 
Miss  Dodge  attending. 

Dr.  Leaver  turned  to  Miss  Mathewson.  He 
drew  off  the  masking  gauze  from  his  head,  showing 
a  flushed,  moist  face  and  eyes  a  little  bloodshot. 
But  his  voice  was  as  quiet  as  ever  as  he  said: 

"I've  never  had  finer  assistance  from  any  one, 
Miss  Mathewson.  If  you  had  been  trained  to  work 
opposite  me  you  couldn't  have  done  better." 

"You  work  much  like  Dr.  Burns,"  she  said, 
modestly.  "That  made  it  easy." 

Burns   burst  into  a   smothered   laugh.     "That's 


A  CRISIS  229 

the  biggest  compliment  I've  had  for  a  good  while," 
said  he. 

As  they  dressed,  neither  man  said  much.  But 
when  coats  were  on,  and  the  two  were  ready  to  go 
to  Jamie's  room,  they  turned  each  to  the  other. 

"Well,  old  man?"  Burns  was  smiling  like  the 
sunshine  itself  into  his  friend's  eyes.  "I  think 
I  never  was  so  happy  in  my  life. " 

"I  know  you're  happy,"  said  the  other  man. 
"I  don't  believe  I'll  trust  myself  yet  to  tell  you  what 
I  am." 

"Don't  try.  We  won't  talk  it  over  just  yet. 
But  I've  got  to  say  this,  Jack:  You  never  did  a 
more  masterly  job  in  your  life." 

Leaver  smiled  —  and  shivered.  "I'm  glad  it's 
over,"  said  he. 

They  went  down  to  Jamie's  room,  and  there,  on 
either  side  of  the  high  hospital  cot,  watched  con 
sciousness  returning.  With  consciousness  presently 
came  pain. 

"I'm  going  to  stay  with  him,"  Leaver  announced, 
by  and  by.  Jamie's  little, wasted  hand  was  fast  in  his, 
Jamie's  eyes,  when  they  rested  anywhere  with  intelli 
gence,  rested  on  his  face — a  face  tender  and  pitiful. 

"Good  for  you.  I  shall  feel  easier  about  him  if 
you  do,"  and  Burns  went  away  with  the  feeling 
that  this  course  would  be  as  good  for  the  surgeon 
as  for  the  patient. 


230  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

He  stopped  in  the  lower  hall  to  telephone  Ellen. 

"All  safely  over,  dear,"  he  said.  "The  patient 
doing  well  so  far,  and  no  reason  why  he  shouldn't 
continue,  as  far  as  we  can  see. " 

"Oh,  I'm  so  glad,  Red,"  came  back  the  joyous 
reply,  and  Burns  responded: 

"That  goes  without  saying,  partner.  I'll  tell  you 
a  lot  more  about  it,  now,  when  I  get  back." 

The  Green  Imp  went  back  at  a  furious  pace. 
Half-way  home,  however,  as  it  neared  a  figure 
walking  by  the  roadside,  it  suddenly  slowed  down. 

"Will  you  ride  home,  Miss  Photographer?" 
Burns  called.  "Or  do  you  prefer  trudging  all  the 
way  back  with  that  camera  and  tripod?" 

"I'm  delighted  to  ride,  Dr.  Burns,"  replied  Char 
lotte  Ruston.  "Captivating  roadside  views  enticed 
me  much  farther  than  I  intended,  and  the  camera 
weighs  twice  what  it  did  when  I  started. " 

"Jump  in,  then,  and  let  me  give  you  a  piece 
of  good  news  I'm  bursting  with,"  and  Burns  held 
out  his  hand  for  the  camera.  "You're  getting  a 
beautiful  sunburn  on  that  right  cheek,"  he  com 
mented. 

"I'll  burn  the  left  to  match  it,  if  you  won't  drive 
too  fast.  You'll  have  to  go  a  little  slower  while 
you  talk.  I've  noticed  you're  always  silent  when 
you're  scorching  along  the  road." 

"So  I  am,  I  believe.     Well,  I'm  not  going  to  be 


A  CRISIS  231 

silent  now.  I've  just  come  from  seeing  Jamie 
Ferguson  put  on  the  road  to  future  health  and 
happiness,  the  good  Lord  willing  —  and  I've  a  notion 
He  is." 

" Jamie  —  the  little  cripple  who  lies  on  his  back?" 

"The  same.  He'll  lie  on  his  back  some  time  longer 
and  then,  I  think,  he'll  get  up." 

"You  operated  on  him  to-day?     How  glad  I  am!" 

"No,  I  didn't  operate.  It  took  a  better  man 
than  I.  I've  never  done  this  particular  stunt,  and 
Jamie  was  not  a  patient  for  experiment.  Jack 
Leaver  did  the  trick,  and  a  finished  trick  it  was, 
too.  I'm  so  full  of  enthusiasm  over  his  performance 
that  I'm  bursting  with  it,  as  I  warned  you." 

Charlotte  Ruston  had  turned  suddenly  to  face 
him.  As  he  looked  at  her,  with  this  announcement, 
he  had  a  view  of  lovely,  startled  eyes. 

"What's  the  matter?"  he  asked,  wondering. 
He  had  to  look  ahead  at  the  road,  but  he  cut  down 
on  the  Imp's  speed,  so  that  he  could  spare  a  glance 
at  his  companion  again.  "You  look  as  if  I'd  given 
you  bad  news  instead  of  good. " 

"Oh,  no!  —  oh,  no!"  she  said,  in  odd,  short  breaths. 
"It's  great  —  wonderful!  Poor  little  fellow!  I'm 
very  glad.  You  said  —  Dr.  Leaver  did  it?  I  was 
simply  —  surprised." 

"Did  it  brilliantly.  But  there's  no  occasion  for 
surprise  about  that.  Having  been  in  Baltimore 


232  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

as  much  as  you  have,  you  must  know  his  position 
there.  There's  nobody  with  a  bigger  reputation." 

"But  I  thought  he  had  been  —  ill?" 

"Tired  out.  Small  wonder,  at  the  pace  he  was 
going  —  the  working  pace,  I  mean.  He  never  let 
up  on  himself.  I  got  him  here  to  rest  up.  He 
would  have  been  off  long  ago  if  I  would  have 
given  him  leave,  but  I  had  his  promise  to  keep  away 
from  work  till  he  was  thoroughly  fit  for  it,  so  Pve 
made  the  most  of  my  chance.  I  shall  never  get 
another.  If  I  know  him  he'll  be  back  in  his  office 
before  the  week  ends.  Once  give  a  chap  like  him 
a  taste  of  work  after  idleness,  and  there's  no  use 
trying  to  hold  him. " 

"You  think  him  fully  fit,  now?" 

"Never  so  fit  in  his  life,  if  I'm  any  judge.  I've 
seen  him  at  work  many  a  time,  and  I  never  saw 
finer  methods  than  his  to-day,  his  own  or  any  man's 
—  and  I've  watched  some  pretty  smooth  things. 
By  the  way,  I  understand  you  had  met  Dr.  Leaver 
before  you  met  him  here?" 

"Yes,  I  had  met  him." 

Burns  was  not  possessed  of  more  than  the  ordinary 
amount  of  curiosity  concerning  other  people's 
affairs,  but  he  was  accustomed  to  observe  human 
nature  and  note  its  signs,  and  it  struck  him  now 
rather  suddenly  that  both  John  Leaver  and  Char 
lotte  Ruston  had  seemed  rather  more  than  neces- 


A  CRISIS  233 

sarily  non-committal  concerning  an  acquaintance 
which  both  admitted.  He  saw  no  reason  why  he 
should  not  ask  a  question  or  two.  Asking  questions 
was  a  part  of  his  profession. 

"I  hope  youVe  managed  to  coax  him  before  your 
camera.  He's  looking  so  well  now,  Pd  like  a  picture 
of  him  before  he  goes  back  and  works  himself 
down  again." 

"You  might  suggest  it  to  him,"  said  Miss  Ruston. 
She  was  looking  straight  ahead.  She  wore  a  hat 
of  white  linen,  of  a  picturesque  shape,  such  as  are 
in  vogue  in  the  country  in  warm  weather,  and  it 
drooped  more  or  less  about  her  face.  Burns  could 
not  see  her  eyes  when  she  looked  forward,  but  he 
could  see  her  mouth.  It  was  an  expressive  mouth, 
and  it  looked  particularly  expressive  just  now. 
The  trouble  was  that  he  could  not  tell  just  what  it 
expressed. 

"I'll  do  it,  this  afternoon,  and  keep  it  as  a  reminder 
of  a  patient  of  whom  I  think  a  heap.  No,  I  can't 
do  it  this  afternoon,  either,  for  he  won't  leave  Jamie 
till  he  can  leave  him  comfortably  over  the  first  stage. 
But  by  to-morrow  afternoon,  perhaps.  We'll  have 
to  catch  him  on  the  fly,  for  I'm  confident  he'll 
be  off  the  minute  the  youngster  is  out  of  danger. 
Well,  I  hope  you  know  my  friend  well  enough  to 
appreciate  that  he's  about  the  finest  there  is  any 
where?" 


234  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

"I'm  beginning  to  know  you  well  enough,  Dr. 
Burns,  to  'see  that  you  care  more  to  have  your 
friends  appreciated  than  to  win  praise  yourself." 

"No,  no  —  oh,  Caesar,  no!  I've  not  reached  such 
a  sublime  height  of  altruism  as  that.  To  tell  you 
the  honest  truth  —  which  is  supposed  to  be  good 
for  the  soul  —  I'm  horribly  envious  of  Jack  Leaver 
for  having  done  that  stunt  this  morning. " 

"Envious?  Of  course  you  are.  At  the  same 
time  would  you  have  taken  it  away  from  him  and 
have  done  it  yourself,  if  you  had  had  the  chance?" 

"Trust  a  woman  to  confront  a  man  with  the 
unthinkable,  and  then  expect  him  to  take  credit 
for  not  having  been  guilty  of  it!  Would  I  have 
snatched  a  juicy  bone  away  from  a  starving  lion? 
That's  what  Leaver  has  been  all  these  months. 
It's  what  any  man  gets  to  be  when  his  job  is  taken 
away  from  him  and  he  doesn't  know  when  he  will 
get  another.  No  —  at  the  same  time  that  I'm 
envious  I'm  genuinely  happy  that  the  lion  got  his 
bone.  He  needed  it.  It's  going  to  make  a  well 
lion  of  him;  he  is  one  now.  You're  glad,  too,  aren't 
you?" 

He  gave  her  one  of  his  quick,  discerning  glances. 

"Of  course  I  am."  She  spoke  quite  heartily 
enough  to  satisfy  him. 

"Good!  Then,  if  I  can  wheedle  him  before  the 
camera,  you'll  be  interested  in  making  a  picture 


A  CRISIS  235 

of  him  that  Ellen  and  I  shall  want  to  frame  and  look 
at  every  day?" 

"I  will  give  you  my  amateur's  best,  certainly, 
Dr.  Burns." 

" Prunes  and  prisms!"  he  exclaimed,  and  broke 
into  a  laugh.  "I  didn't  expect  that,  from  a  girl 
like  you.  I  should  have  expected  you  to  —  well, 
never  mind.  I  was  on  the  verge  of  being  im 
pertinent,  Pm  afraid.  Forgive  me,  will  you,  for 
what  I  might  have  said?  I'll  bring  him  over  at  the 
first  opportunity." 


CHAPTER  XIV 

BEFORE    THE    LENS 

RED,  this  is  certainly  the  unkindest  cut  of  all! 
I  haven't  minded  your  other  prescriptions, 
but  to  insist  on  giving  a  well  man  the  worst  dose 
of  his  experience  to  take '' 

"Stuff  and  nonsense!  A  bad  prescription  —  to 
go  across  the  street  and  let  the  prettiest  photog 
rapher  in  the  United  States  take  a  sun  picture  of 
you  before  you  leave  town  ?  Besides,  you  owe  it  to 
us.  I  haven't  the  smallest  kind  of  a  likeness  of  you. 
I  want  a  nice  big  one,  to  use  in  my  advertisements. 
I  only  wish  I  had  a  picture  of  you  'as  you  were,'  to 
put  beside  the  'as  you  are.'  It  would  be  telling. 
'The  great  Burns's  greatest  cure.  The  celebrated 
Leaver  of  Baltimore  as  he  was  when  Burns  finished 
with  him.'  I'll  send  you  a  dozen  copies  of  the 
paper." 

"Please,  Dr.  Leaver."  Mrs.  Red  Pepper  Burns 
added  her  plea.  "Red  really  wants  it  very  much, 
and  so  do  I.  You  admit  you  have  no  photograph 
to  send  us,  and  we  know  quite  well  you  won't  go 
and  have  one  made  by  Mr.  Brant,  as  you  should. 

236 


BEFORE  THE  LENS  237 

So  please  let  Miss  Ruston  try  her  art.  We  think 
you  owe  it  to  us. " 

Leaver  looked  at  her,  and  his  determined  lips 
relaxed  into  a  smile.  "I  admit  that  argument  tells, 
Mrs.  Burns,"  he  said.  "I  suppose  it  is  ungracious 
of  me,  but,  to  tell  the  truth,  I've  always  preferred 
to  be  able  to  say  I  had  no  portraits  of  myself. " 

"Oh,  I  see,"  Burns  broke  in.  "We're  not  con 
sidering,  Ellen,  the  urgent  demands  for  a  popular 
bachelor  surgeon's  photograph.  It's  precisely  like 
Jack  not  to  hand  them  out  to  the  ladies,  or  to  the 
newspaper  men.  All  right,  old  chap.  Give  us  what 
we  want  and  we'll  have  the  plate  smashed.  Now 
will  you  be  good  ?  Come,  let's  go  over.  If  you  really 
mean  to  leave  to-night  this  is  our  last  chance." 

The  two  men  crossed  the  street,  in  the  mellow 
September  sunshine.  Burns  preceded  Leaver  and 
knocked  at  the  door. 

"Will  you  take  a  shot  at  my  friend  before  he 
goes?"  Burns  asked  Charlotte.  "He  hates  standing 
up  to  be  shot  at,  but  I  have  him  primed  for  the 
ordeal." 

"Must  it  be  a  shot,  or  may  I  make  a  portrait?" 
asked  the  photographer,  in  her  professional  manner. 

"I  want  a  portrait,"  replied  Burns,  promptly. 
"Your  best  indoor  work — Brant  and  the  Misses 
Kendall  put  on  their  mettle  to  rival  it." 

While  Charlotte  was  absent,  making   ready  her 


238  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

plates,  her  visitors  waited  in  the  little  living-room 
and  looked  about  it.  Its  walls  were  now  possessed 
of  many  interesting  photographs  of  people  in  the 
village,  among  them  several  of  Burns  himself,  at 
which  he  gazed  with  a  quizzical  expression. 

"She  certainly  succeeds  in  making  a  hero  of  me, 
doesn't  she?"  he  observed.  "Red  hair  turns  dusky 
before  the  camera,  luckily  for  me.  I  look  as  if  there 
wasn't  much  of  anything  I  couldn't  do,  including 
playing  leading  man  in  a  melodrama  —  eh?" 

"She  has  caught  the  personality,  cleverly  enough," 
Leaver  commented,  looking  over  Burns's  shoulder. 

"I  rather  think,  though,"  mused  Burns,  "that 
I  don't  look  so  much  as  if  there  wasn't  anything  1 
couldn't  do  as  that  I  thought  there  wasn't.  There's 
a  difference,  Jack, —  eh?  Do  I  really  seem  as  ready 
to  bounce  out  of  my  chair  and  tackle  somebody  as 
that  picture  makes  me  look?  If  I  do  I  need  to  have 
a  tourniquet  applied  somewhere  about  my  neck  to 
stop  the  flow  of  blood  to  my  bumptious  head." 

Smiling,  Leaver  studied  the  photograph  in  ques 
tion.  "It's  the  best  I  ever  saw  of  you.  It's 
precisely  that  air  of  being  all  there  and  ready  for 
action  which  is  your  most  endearing  characteristic. 
It  is  the  quality  which  made  me  willing  to  put 
myself  in  your  hands  last  April." 

"Much  obliged.  But  you  didn't  put  yourself 
in  my  hands.  I  laid  hands  on  you  and  tied  you 


BEFORE  THE  LENS  239 

down.  I  couldn't  do  it  now,  though,'*  and  Burns 
turned  to  survey  his  friend  with  satisfaction.  "You 
are  in  elegant  trim,  if  I  do  say  it  who  shouldn't,  and 
that's  why  I  want  a  picture  of  my  handiwork  — 
and  Nature's.  It's  just  possible  that  Nature 
deserves  some  credit,  not  to  mention  Amy  Mathew- 
son.  By  the  way,  she's  another  who  must  have 
this  portrait  of  you,  my  boy. " 

"She  certainly  shall,  if  she  cares  for  it,"  admitted 
Leaver,  gravely.  "I'm  very  willing  to  remind  her 
how  much  I  owe  her,  in  that  and  better  ways." 

Charlotte  appeared.  As  she  set  about  her  work 
Bob  came  racing  over  the  lawn  and  in  at  the  open 
door. 

"Uncle  Red,  somebody  wants  you  right  away 
quick!"  he  announced. 

"Just  my  luck!  I  wanted  to  help  pose  the  pic 
ture,"  grumbled  Burns,  but  went  off,  the  boy  on  his 
shoulder  shouting  with  delight. 

The  photographer,  in  the  plain  dress  of  dull  blue, 
which,  artist-wise,  she  had  chosen  as  her  professional 
garb,  and  in  which  she  herself  made  a  picture  to  be 
observed  with  enjoyment,  moved  deftly  about  the 
room  arranging  her  lights  and  shadows.  This  done, 
she  turned  to  her  sitter.  When  she  came  in  he  had 
been  standing  before  a  set  of  prints  upon  the  wall, 
studying  them  critically,  but  from  the  moment  of  her 
entrance  he  had  been  watching  her,  though  he  held 


240  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

a  photograph  in  his  hand  with  which  he  might  have 
seemed  to  be  engaged. 

"Ready?"  she  asked,  smiling.  "Or,  rather,  as 
ready  as  you  ever  will  be?" 

"Does  my  reluctance  show  as  plainly  as  that? 
But  I  am  quite  ready  now  to  do  your  bidding." 

"Sit  down  in  that  chair,  please.  But  first  — 
I  really  can't  wait  longer  to  ask  you  —  how  is 
Jamie  Ferguson?" 

"Doing  finely."  His  face  lighted  with  pleasure 
at  the  thought. 

"Will  he  have  the  full  use  of  his  poor  little  legs?" 

"It  is  too  soon  to  say  positively.  We  hope 
quite  confidently  for  that  result.  He  shows  better 
powers  of  recuperation  than  we  dared  expect. " 

"Yesterday,"  said  Charlotte,  her  hand  on  a 
certain  bulb  out  of  sight,  "Miss  Mathewson  told 
me  something  Jamie  had  said.  It  was  the  most 
extraordinary  thing " 

She  related  the  incident,  in  which  the  lad  had 
shyly  praised  both  Leaver  and  Burns  as  seeming  to 
hin\  like  big  brothers.  She  told  it  with  animation, 
her  watchful  eyes  on  her  sitter's  face.  At  a  certain 
point,  just  before  the  climax  of  the  story,  she  gave 
the  bulb  a  long,  slow  pressure;  then,  ending,  she 
remarked : 

"Now,  if  you  are  ready,  Dr.  Leaver." 

His  face  immediately  grew  grave,  lost  its  expres- 


"She  told  it  with  animation,  her  watchful  eyes  on  tier 
sitter's  face  " 


BEFORE  THE  LENS  241 

sion  of  interested  attention,  and  set  in  lines  of 
resignation.  She  went  through  a  number  of  motions 
and  announced  that  the  sitting  was  over. 

"It  wasn't  so  bad,  was  it?"  she  questioned, 
gayly,  as  she  removed  the  plate  she  had  used.  "I'm 
not  even  going  to  try  again.  I've  discovered  that 
it's  not  always  best  to  repeat  an  attempt,  and  when 
you  are  pretty  sure  you  have  what  you  want,  it 
doesn't  pay." 

"Thank  you  for  making  the  operation  so  nearly 
painless.  I  haven't  had  a  photograph  taken  since 
I  was  a  medical  student,  and  I  wasn't  prepared  for 
so  short  a  trial.  But,  even  so,  I  felt  the  desperate- 
ness  of  the  situation.  Doubtless  that  will  show 
plainly  in  the  final  result." 

"Mine  is  a  discreet  camera,  and  doesn't  tell  all 
it  sees,  so  it  is  possible  it  may  keep  your  reluctance 
disguised." 

She  took  away  the  plate,  left  him  for  a  few  minutes 
alone  among  the  photographs,  and  returned. 

"It  is  quite  all  right,  I  think,  Dr.  Leaver,"  she 
said,  "and  the  agony  is  over.  You  are  leaving 
town  to-day?" 

He  rose.  "I  go  to-night.  I  should  have  come 
to  say  good-bye,  in  any  case,  but,  as  I  go  out  to 
Sunny  Farm  for  one  more  look  at  the  boy,  I  must 
be  off.  So  —  I'll  make  this  the  good-bye. " 

"I  hope  you'll  have  the  busiest,  happiest  sort  of 


242  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

winter,"  she  said,  in  the  charming,  friendly  way 
which  was  naturally  her  own.  "So  busy  and  so 
happy  you'll  forget  this  long,  trying  time  of  waiting 
to  be  well.  Surely,  the  rest  —  and  Dr.  Burns  — 
have  done  the  work.  When  you  see  the  portrait 
I  hope  it  will  show  you,  better  than  looking  at 
yourself  in  any  mirror,  what  good  has  been  done. " 

"Thank  you.  I  know  a  great  change  has  been 
wrought,  somehow,  thanks  to  a  man  who  insisted 
on  having  his  own  way  when  I  didn't  want  to  let 
him.  You  expect  to  stay  in  this  cottage  all  winter? " 

"All  winter,  and  all  spring.  Imagine  us  by  a 
splendid  fire  in  this  good  fireplace. " 

"  I  hope  it  won't  smoke  on  windy  days. "  Leaver 
looked  doubtfully  at  it.  "It  strikes  me  as  better 
photographic  material  than  as  practical  defence 
against  the  cold. " 

"I  shall  demonstrate  that  it  is  entirely  practical. 
And  Granny's  little  feet  will  seldom  touch  the  floor. 
I  have  a  beautiful  foot-warmer  for  her,  which  will 
keep  her  snug  as  comfort. " 

"I  know  you  have  a  strong  courage,  and  will  face 
any  discomfort  bravely." 

His  eyes  were  dwelling  upon  her  face,  noting  each 
outline,  as  if  he  meant  to  take  the  memory  of  it 
with  him. 

"All  the  courage  in  the  world.  What  would  life 
be  without  it?  With  it,  one  can  do  anything." 


BEFORE  THE  LENS  243 

"I  believe  you."  He  was  silent  for  a  moment, 
still  looking  at  her  intently.  "I  wonder,"  he  said 
then,  "if  you  would  be  willing  to  give  me  some 
thing  I  very  much  want.  I  have  no  right  to  ask 
it,  and  yet,  for  the  sake  of  many  pleasant  hours  we 
have  spent  together  —  that's  a  tame  phrase  for  me 
to  use  of  them,  from  my  standpoint  —  for  their 
sake  would  you  be  willing  to  let  me  have  —  a 
picture  of  yourself?  I  promise  you  it  shall  be 
seen  by  no  one  but  myself.  It  would  mean  a  good 
deal  to  me.  Yet,  if  you  are  not  entirely  willing,  I 
won't  ask  it." 

He  spoke  in  the  quietest,  grave  way.  After  a 
moment's  hesitation  she  answered  him  as  quietly. 

"I  don't  know  why  I  should  mind,  Dr.  Leaver, 
and  yet,  somehow,  I  find  I  do.  Will  you  believe 
it's  not  because  I  don't  want  to  please  you?" 

His  face  showed,  in  spite  of  him,  that  the  denial 
hurt  him.  He  held  out  his  hand. 

"You  are  quite  right  to  be  frank.  Shall  we  say 
good-bye  ?  All  kinds  of  success  to  you  this  winter  — 
and  always." 

"Thank  you,  Dr.  Leaver.  I  give  you  back  the 
wish." 

They  shook  hands,  the  two  faces  smiling  at 
each  other.  Then  he  went  quickly  away.  Looking 
after  him  she  saw  that  he  carried  his  hat  in  his 
hand  until  he  had  reached  the  gate  in  the  hedge. 


244  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

He  closed  the  gate  without  a  backward  glance, 
and  in  a  minute  more  was  out  of  sight. 

She  went  into  her  dark-room  and  examined  again 
the  plate  she  had  just  developed.  Holding  it  in  a 
certain  light,  against  darkness,  she  was  able  to 
obtain  a  faint  view  of  the  picture  as  it  would  be 
in  the  print.  Unquestionably  she  had  made  a 
lifelike  and  extraordinarily  attractive  portrait  of 
a  man  of  distinguished  features,  caught  at  a  moment 
when  he  had  had  no  notion  that  the  thing  was  hap 
pening.  She  studied  it  long  and  attentively. 

"It  would  have  been  better  if  I  hadn't  made  it," 
she  said  slowly  to  herself.  "For  now  I  shall  have 
it  to  look  at,  and  I  shall  have  to  look  at  it.  I'm  not 
strong  enough  —  not  strong  enough  —  I  don't  want 
to  be  strong  enough  —  to  forego  that!" 

After  nightfall,  on  that  September  evening, 
Leaver  took  his  departure.  Burns  was  to  convey 
him  in  the  Imp  to  the  city  station,  because  his 
train  did  not  stop  in  the  suburban  village.  For  a 
half-hour  before  his  going  Burns's  porch  was  full, 
the  Macauleys  and  the  Chesters  having  come  over 
to  do  Dr.  Leaver  honour.  They  found  less  chance 
for  talking  with  him  than  they  might  have  done 
if  he  had  not  gone  off  with  Miss  Mathewson  for  a 
short  walk. 

"Something    in    it,    possibly,    do    you    think?" 


BEFORE  THE  LENS  245 

James  Macauley  asked,  in  an  aside,  of  Mrs.  Burns. 
"Miss  Mathewson  certainly  has  developed  a  lot 
of  good  looks  this  summer  that  I,  for  one,  never 
suspected  her  of  before.  Whether  she  could  interest 
a  man  like  him  I  don't  know  and  can't  guess.  He's 
no  ordinary  man.  I  didn't  like  him  much  at  first, 
but  as  he's  improved  in  health  he's  shown  up  for 
what  he  is,  and  I  can  understand  Red's  interest  in 
getting  him  on  his  feet  again.  He's  certainly  on 
'em  now.  That  was  a  great  stunt  he  did  for  the 
little  chap,  according  to  Red.  Looks  a  bit  suggestive 
of  interest,  his  going  off  with  Miss  Amy  for  a  walk, 
at  the  last  minute,  don't  you  think?  Still,  I  can't 
imagine  any  man's  looking  in  that  direction  when 
there's  what  there  is  across  the  street.  He  hasn't 
shown  any  signs  of  life,  there,  has  he?" 

"Jimmy,  you're  a  sad  gossip.  If  I  knew  all  these 
people's  affairs,  or  if  I  knew  none  of  them,  I  shouldn't 
discuss  them  with  you.  But  I'm  quite  willing  to 
agree  with  you  that  both  Amy  and  Charlotte  are 
delightful,  each  in  her  way." 

"Never  did  get  any  satisfaction  out  of  you," 
grumbled  James  Macauley,  good  humouredly.  "I 
didn't  suppose  women  had  such  a  fine  sense  of 
honour  when  it  came  to  talking  over  other  women." 

"Then  it's  time  you  found  it  out." 

"What's  this?  Ellen  giving  you  hot  shot?" 
Burns  came  up,  watch  in  hand.  "  It's  time  those 


246  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

people   were   back.     They've   probably   fallen   into 
a  discussion  of  surgical  methods,  and  forgotten  the 


time." 


The  missing  pair  presently  appeared.  James 
Macauley  looked  curiously  at  them,  but  could 
detect  no  sign  of  sentiment  about  them.  Indeed, 
as  they  came  up  the  walk  Leaver's  voice  was  heard 
saying  in  a  most  matter-of-fact  way: 

"I'll  send  you  a  reprint  on  that  subject.  You'll 
find  the  German  notion  has  completely  changed  — 
completely.  Nothing  has  happened  in  a  long  time 
that  so  marks  advance  in  research  along  those  lines." 

"He's  safe,"  the  observer  whispered  to  Mrs. 
Burns.  "No  fun  to  be  had  out  of  that.  Unless  — 
he  was  clever  enough  to  change  his  line  when  he 
came  within  earshot.  It  has  been  done,  you  know. 
I've  done  it  myself,  though  I  never  jumped  to 
German  reprints  as  a  safety  station.  But,  you 
can  usually  tell  by  the  woman.  She  looks  as  if 
she  had  merely  been  out  for  a  nice  walk.  Not  a  hair 
out  of  place,  no  high  colour,  no " 

Ellen  moved  away  from  him.  She  was  conscious 
that  she,  too,  had  been  noting  signs,  but  she  would 
not  join  him  further  in  discussing  them. 

"I  am  not  good  at  farewell  speeches,"  said 
John  Leaver,  holding  Ellen's  hand  in  both  his  own, 
when  he  had  taken  leave  of  every  one  else.  "I  only 
hope  I  can  show  you,  somehow,  how  I  feel  about 


BEFORE  THE  LENS  247 

what  you  and  your  husband  have  done  for  me. 
I  tried  to  tell  Miss  Mathewson  something  of  the 
same  thing,  but  she  wouldn't  have  it,  which  was 
fortunate,  for  the  words  stuck  in  my  throat. " 

Burns  took  him  away.  "If  they  hadn't,  you'd 
have  missed  your  train.  We've  got  to  make  time, 
now. " 

As  he  took  his  place  in  the  Green  Imp  Leaver 
looked  across  the  street  at  the  cottage  back  among 
the  trees.  Its  windows  were  quite  dark,  although  the 
hour  was  barely  ten  o'clock.  Burns  looked  over,  too. 

"By  the  way,"  he  said,  as  they  moved  away, 
"why  wasn't  Miss  Ruston  among  the  crowd  assem 
bled  to  see  you  off?  As  an  acquaintance  of  yours 
in  Baltimore  she  ought  to  join  in  the  send-off  back 
to  that  town." 

"She  gave  me  her  good  wishes  this  afternoon, 
after  taking  the  photograph.  Red,  speaking  of 
Baltimore,  when  are  you  coming  down?" 

"When  I  get  a  card  saying  you  are  holding  a 
clinic  on  a  subject  I'm  anxious  to  see  demonstrated. " 

"Do  you  expect  me  to  go  to  holding  clinics?" 

"Surest  thing  in  the  world.  You  can't  keep 
out  of  them." 

"Do  you  suppose  the  men  who  saw  my  break 
down  will  be  eager  to  welcome  me  back?" 

"No  question  of  it.  Good  Lord,  man,  you're 
not  the  first  nor  the  ten-thousandth  man  who  has 


248  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

broken  down  from  overwork.  Because  my  axe 
becomes  dull  I'm  not  going  to  refuse  to  use  it  when 
it  comes  back  from  the  grindstone  with  a  brighter 
edge  than  ever  on  it,  am  I  ?  Wait  till  you  see  your 
reception.  Some  of  those  fellows  have  been  making 
a  lot  of  mistakes  in  your  absence  —  have  been  trying 
to  do  things  too  big  for  them.  They'll  be  only  too 
glad  to  turn  some  of  their  stunts  over  to  you.  And 
the  big  ones,  who  are  your  friends,  will  rejoice  at 
sight  of  you.  Of  course  you  have  rivals;  you  don't 
expect  them  to  welcome  you  with  open  arms. 
They'll  be  sorry  to  see  you  back.  Let  them  be 
sorry,  and  be  hanged  to  them!  Go  in  and  show 
them  that  they're  the  ones  who  need  a  rest  now, 
and  that  you'll  take  care  of  their  work  in  their 
absence. " 

Leaver  laughed.  "Red,  there's  nobody  just  like 
you,"  he  said. 

"That's  lucky.  Too  many  explosives  aren't 
safe  to  have  around.  I  know,  and  have  known  all 
along,  Jack,  that  it's  been  like  a  cat  lecturing  a 
king,  my  advice  to  you.  A  better  simile  would 
be  the  old  one  of  the  mouse  gnawing  the  lion  out 
of  the  net.  If  I've  done  anything  for  you,  that's 
what  I've  done. " 

Leaver  turned  in  his  seat.  "Red,"  said  he  — 
and  his  voice  had  a  deep  ring  in  it  as  he  spoke  — 
"you're  about  the  biggest  sized  mouse  I  ever  saw. 


BEFORE  THE  LENS  249 

I  want  to  tell  you  this:  Since  I've  been  watching 
your  work  up  here  I've  conceived  a  tremendous 
admiration  for  your  standards.  There  are  none 
finer,  anywhere.  I've  come  to  feel  that  you  couldn't 
do  anything  bigger  or  better  in  the  largest  place 
you  could  find.  Indeed,  this,  for  you,  is  the  largest 
place,  for  you  fill  it  as  another  man  couldn't." 

"The  frog,  in  the  marsh,  where  he  lived,  was 
king,"  Burns  quoted,  in  an  effort  at  lightness,  for 
he  was  deeply  touched. 

"That's  not  the  sort  of  king  you  are.  You  would 
be  king  anywhere.  But  you're  willing  to  rule  over 
a  kingdom  that  may  look  small  to  some,  but  looks 
big  as  an  empire  to  me,  now  that  I  understand. 
I've  reached  this  point:  I  am  almost  —  and  some 
time  I  expect  to  be  entirely  —  glad  that  the  thing 
happened  to  me  which  brought  me  here  to  you. 
You  have  done  more  for  me  than  any  man  ever  did. 
And  there's  one  thing  I  think  I  owe  to  you  to  tell 
you.  The  greatest  thing  I've  learned  from  you, 
though  you  haven't  said  much  about  it,  is  faith 
in  the  God  above  us.  I'd  about  let  go  of  that  when 
I  came  here.  Thanks  to  you,  I've  got  hold  of  it 
again,  and  I  mean  never  to  let  go.  No  man  can 
afford  to  let  go  of  that  —  permanently. ' 

Burns  was  silent  for  a  moment,  in  answer  to  this 
most  unexpected  tribute,  silent  because  he  could 
find  no  words.  When  he  did  speak  there  was  a 


250  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

trace  of  huskiness  in  his  voice.  "I'm  mighty  glad 
to  know  that,  Jack, "  he  said  simply. 

Then,  presently,  for  they  had  flown  fast  over 
the  smooth  road,  they  were  entering  the  city  limits, 
traversing  a  crowded  thoroughfare,  and  approaching 
the  great  station  on  whose  tower  the  illuminated 
face  of  the  clock  warned  them  there  was  little  time 
to  spare.  Arrived  there,  every  moment  was  con 
sumed  in  a  rush  for  tickets  and  in  checking  baggage. 
Xeaver  secured  his  sleeper  reservation  with  some 
difficulty,  owing  to  a  misunderstanding  in  the 
telegram  engaging  it,  and  at  the  last  the  two  men 
had  to  run  for  the  train.  At  the  gate  there  was 
only  space  for  a  hasty  grip  of  two  warm  hands, 
a  smile  of  understanding  and  affection,  and  an 
exchange  of  arm-wavings  at  a  distance  as  Leaver 
reached  his  car,  already  on  the  verge  of  moving 
out. 

As  Burns  drove  away  he  was  feeling  a  sense  of 
loneliness  as  unpleasant  as  it  was  unexpected,  and 
found  himself  longing  to  get  back  to  a  certain  pair 
of  arms  whose  hold  was  a  panacea  for  every  ache. 

"He  thinks  he  owes  it  all  to  me,"  he  was  saying 
by  and  by,  when  this  desirable  condition  had  been 
fulfilled.  "But  maybe  I  don't  owe  something  to 
him.  If  the  sight  of  a  plucky  fight  for  self-control 
is  a  bracing  tonic  to  any  man  I've  had  one  in  watch 
ing  him.  I  never  saw  a  finer  display  of  will  against 


BEFORE  THE  LENS  251 

heavy  odds.  Another  man  in  the  shape  he  was  in 
last  spring  would  have  gone  under." 

"It  would  be  pretty  difficult,  I  think,  dear," 
said  his  wife,  softly  touching  his  thick  locks,  as  his 
head  lay  on  her  lap,  "for  any  man  to  go  under  with 
you  pulling  him  out.  " 

"I  didn't  pull  him  out.  No  man  in  creation  can 
pull  another  out,  no  matter  how  strong  his  effort. 
The  chap  that's  in  the  current  has  got  to  do  every 
last  ounce  of  the  pulling  himself.  I  don't  say  God 
can't  help,  for  I'm  positive  He  can,  but  I  don't 
think  a  man  can  do  much.  And  it's  my  belief  that 
even  God  helps  chiefly  through  making  the  man 
realize  that  he  can  help  himself." 

"For  which  office  he  sometimes  appoints  a  man 
as  his  human  instrument,  doesn't  he?" 

Burns  turned  his  head  and  touched  his  lips  to 
the  hand  which  had  laid  itself  against  his  cheek. 

"Perhaps,  when  he  can't  find  a  woman.  As  a 
power  conductor  she  is  the  only,  original,  copper 
wire!" 

The  curiosity  which  James  Macauley  had  freely 
expressed  as  to  the  probable  degree  of  friendship 
between  Leaver  and  Amy  Mathewson,  developed 
by  months  of  close  association,  was,  with  him  and 
with  others,  not  unnatural.  But,  in  Ellen's  case, 
the  desire  to  know  just  how  much  the  situation  had 


252  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

meant  to  Amy  herself,  was  a  result  of  her  increas 
ingly  warm  affection  for  a  young  woman  of  character 
and  personal  attractiveness,  mingled  with  a  sense 
of  her  own  and  her  husband's  responsibility  in 
bringing  together  two  people  who  might  be  expected 
to  emerge  from  the  encounter  not  a  little  affected 
by  it. 

On  the  morning  after  John  Leaver's  departure, 
Ellen,  standing  at  a  window,  found  herself  watch 
ing  with  more  than  ordinary  intentness  the  face  of 
Amy  as  she  came  up  the  walk  to  the  house.  Lest 
Leaver  should  realize  to  what  an  extent  his  presence 
had  disturbed  the  regular  routine  of  Burns's  office, 
Amy  had  not  been  allowed  to  resume  her  position 
according  to  the  old  regime,  but  had  spent  only 
a  portion  of  her  time  there,  more  as  a  guest  of  the 
house  might  assume  certain  duties  than  as  a  regu 
larly  hired  assistant  would  attend  to  them.  This 
was,  therefore,  the  first  time,  since  Leaver  had  left 
the  confinement  in  his  room,  that  Amy  Mathewson 
had  appeared  in  the  office  in  her  old  role,  announced 
by  the  donning  of  her  uniform. 

"I  certainly  don't  see  any  unhappiness  there,*' 
said  Ellen  to  herself,  watching  Amy  as  she  stooped 
to  pick  up  an  early  fallen  scarlet  leaf  upon  the  lawn. 
She  fastened  it  upon  the  severe  whiteness  of  her 
attire,  then  came  on  to  the  house  with  an  alert  step, 
as  if  she  approached  work  she  looked  forward  to  with 


BEFORE  THE  LENS  253 

zest.  Her  colour  was  more  vivid  than  it  had  been 
last  June,  when  first  she  began  to  live  the  outdoor 
life  with  her  patient,  her  eyes  were  brighter,  her  whole 
personality  seemed  somehow  more  significant.  Ellen 
had  noted  in  her  these  signs  of  enriched  life  many 
times  before  during  these  weeks;  but  the  fact  that 
Amy's  aspect,  on  the  day  after  the  departure  of  her 
comrade  of  the  summer,  seemed  to  have  suffered 
no  change,  but  that  her  whole  air,  as  she  came  to 
her  old  task,  was  that  of  one  who  hastens  to  a 
congenial  appointment,  gave  to  Ellen  a  distinct 
sense  of  relief  from  an  anxiety  she  had  suffered  from 
time  to  time  throughout  the  whole  experience. 

Burns  had  gone  away  early,  summoned  by  an 
insistent  call,  and  the  office  was  empty.  Knowing 
this,  Ellen  went  in  to  greet  her  friend.  There  could 
be  no  other  term,  now,  for  the  whole-hearted  bond 
between  the  two. 

"Isn't  it  glorious,  this  touch  of  frost  in  the  air?" 
Amy  came  in  smiling,  her  cheeks  bright  with  the 
sting  of  the  early  October  morning.  "And  to-day 
—  to-day,  at  last,  I  am  free  to  go  to  work  as  I  like. 
I  don't  believe  Dr.  Burns  has  sent  out  a  bill  for 
three  months.  He  would  go  bankrupt  before  he 
would  tell  a  man  what  he  owed  him." 

"Do  you  like  sending  out  bills  so  well  as  that?" 
Ellen  asked,  incredulous. 

"I  like  anything  that  means  being  at  work  again, 


254  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

without  having  to  play  that  I'm  a  lady  of  leisure 
at  any  moment  that  anybody  wants  my  company. 
I  like  to  have  things  methodical  and  systematic. 
I  don't  even  mind  sending  out  bills,  when  I  know 
they  should  be  sent. " 

She  stirred  about  the  office,  getting  out  her  type 
writer  and  oiling  it,  while  the  two  talked  of  various 
things.  Her  whole  manner  was  consistent  with 
her  words:  she  seemed  to  be  full  of  the  very  joy 
of  living.  It  occurred  to  Ellen  once  to  wonder  if, 
by  any  possibility,  this  could  be  the  result  of  expecta 
tion  of  future  continuance  of  her  friendship  with 
Leaver.  But  something  happened  presently  which, 
though  but  a  simple  incident  enough,  and  all  in  the 
day's  routine,  made  any  such  supposition  seem  most 
^unlikely. 

The  telephone  bell  rang.  Ellen  saw  Amy's  face 
change  at  the  first  sound  of  her  questioner's  voice, 
with  that  subtle  change  which  sometimes  tells  more 
than  the  person  engaged  in  this  form  of  communica 
tion  realizes. 

"Yes,    Dr.  Burns,"    she    said.      "Yes      .      .      . 
Yes     .    *  '  v  Ifei    *     .     .     Yes,  I  can  have  every 
thing    ready    in    an    hour     ...     I    will     .     . 
I    won't    forget    one  thing.     .     .     .     Yes     .     .     . 
Good-bye!" 

Not  an  illuminating  set  of  replies,  given  at  long 
intervals  which  evidently  spelled  instructions  from 


BEFORE  THE  LENS  255 

the  other  end  of  the  wire.  But  Amy's  voice  was 
eager,  her  concise  replies  by  no  means  veiled  that 
fact,  and  Ellen  could  read,  as  plainly  as  if  Amy 
had  said  it,  that  the  voice  which  spoke  to  her  was 
the  one  of  all  voices,  as  it  had  been  for  so  long,  which 
could  give  the  commands  she  loved  to  obey. 

She  turned  from  the  desk  and  looked  at  Ellen 
with  the  same  animated  expression  of  face.  But 
even  as  she  explained,  she  was  taking  instruments 
from  their  cases,  setting  out  certain  hand-bags,  and 
preparing  to  fill  them. 

"It  is  an  emergency  case  —  operation  —  out  in 
the  country.  Impossible  to  take  the  patient  to  the 
hospital;  everything  must  be  made  ready  on  the 
spot.  Dr.  Burns  is  to  come  for  me  in  an  hour. 
He  will  let  me  stay  with  the  case.  It's  work,  Mrs. 
Burns;  real  work  again,  at  last!" 
.  "You  extraordinary  girl!  A  debutante,  going 
to  a  party  again,  after  enforced  confinement  at 
home,  couldn't  be  gayer  about  it.  I  knew  you 
loved  your  work,  but  I  didn't  know  you  loved  it 
like  that!" 

"Didn't  you?"  Her  hands  moving  swiftly,  she 
seemed  not  to  stop  and  think  what  was  going  to  be 
wanted,  she  went  from  one  preparation  to  another 
with  swift,  sure  knowledge.  "I'm  not  sure  I  did, 
myself,  until  I  had  to  stop  and  take  what  was 
really  just  a  long  vacation,  with  hardly  a  thing  to 


256  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

do.  Vacations  are  very  pleasant  —  for  a  while  — 
but  they  may  last  too  long. " 

"Evidently  Dr.  Leaver  thought  so,  too.  He 
seemed  ready  enough  for  work  again. " 

"Of  course  he  was.  And  work  —  and  only  work 
—  will  put  him  quite  back  where  he  was  before 
the  breakdown.  I  fully  believe,  Mrs.  Burns,  that 
labour  is  a  condition  of  healthy  life.  And  of  the 
two  evils,  too  much  labour  or  too  much  idleness,  the 
latter  is  the  greater." 

"You  make  me  feel  a  drone,"  Ellen  declared. 

Amy  gave  her  a  quick,  understanding  glance. 

"You?  Oh,  no,  Mrs.  Burns.  You  do  the  pret 
tiest  work  in  the  world,  and  the  most  necessary. " 

"But  yours  is  fine  —  wonderful. " 

"Not  fine,  nor  wonderful.  Dr.  Burns's  work  is 
that.  Mine  is  just  —  supplementary. " 

"But  absolutely  essential.  How  many  times 
has  he  told  me  what  he  has  owed  you  all  these 
years  for  perfection  of  detail.  He  says  he  doubts 
if  he  himself  could  secure  such  perfection  if  it  all  de 
pended  upon  his  care. " 

Amy  Mathewson  bent  suddenly  over  a  strange 
looking  instrument,  whose  parts  she  had  been 
examining  before  putting  them  into  the  bag.  Her 
fair  cheek  flushed  richly.  "I  am  glad  to  give  him 
the  best  I  can  do, "  she  said,  quietly,  yet  Ellen  could 
detect  an  odd  little  thrill  in  her  voice. 


BEFORE  THE  LENS  257 

Within  herself  Ellen  understood  the  truth,  which 
she  had  long  ago  guessed.  And  with  it  came  a  fresh 
revelation.  This  was  the  reason  why  Amy  Mathew- 
son  could  see,  unmoved,  the  departure  of  Leaver, 
who  had  been  so  closely  thrown  with  her  all  that 
strange  summer.  With  the  deep  loyalty  of  a  few 
rare  natures,  having  once  given  her  love,  even 
though  she  received  nothing  but  friendship  in 
return,  she  could  care  for  no  future  which  did  not 
include  that  friendship,  dearer  than  the  love  of 
other  men. 

Ellen  was  still  in  the  office,  held  there  by  a  curious 
fascination  of  interest  in  Amy's  rapid,  skillful  prep 
arations.  It  meant  so  much,  this  operating  at  a 
country  house,  she  explained  to  Ellen.  It  meant 
the  working  out  of  all  manner  of  difficult  details, 
that  the  final  conditions  might  as  closely  as  possible 
resemble  those  which  were  to  be  had,  ready  to  hand, 
in  the  operating-room  of  any  hospital. 

"  It's  a  serious  handicap,  to  a  surgeon's  best  work, " 
she  asserted,  "when  he  has  to  do  it  at  a  home.  With 
all  my  precautions,  I  can  never  feel  so  sure  of  giving 
him  perfect  cleanliness  of  surroundings." 

"You  can,  if  any  one  can,"  Ellen  said,  feeling 
for  the  first  time  as  she  spoke,  a  curious  little  twinge 
of  envy  of  the  one  whom  her  husband  had  long 
called,  with  affectionate  familiarity,  his  "right- 
hand  man." 


258  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

Often  as  she  had  seen  the  two  drive  away  together 
it  seemed  to  her  to-day  that  she  looked  at  them 
with  new  eyes.  Just  as  Amy  set  out  the  closed 
hand-bags,  with  a  box  and  a  bundle  beside  them, 
and  donned  hat  and  driving-coat,  the  Green  Imp 
came  rushing  up  the  road  and  stopped  in  front  of 
the  house.  Burns  ran  in,  fired  half  a  dozen  rapid 
questions  at  Amy,  nodding  his  head  with  approval 
at  her  answers,  said,  "All  right,  we're  off,"  and 
picked  up  the  hand-bags.  Then  he  dropped  them, 
snatched  off  his  cap  and  strode  over  to  his  wife. 

"We're  in  a  mess  of  a  hurry,"  he  apologized, 
and  kissed  her  as  if  he  were  thinking  of  something 
else,  as  he  undoubtedly  was.  Then  he  seized  the 
bags,  Amy  the  box  and  bundle,  and  the  two  hurried 
out.  A  moment  later  Ellen  saw  the  car  start, 
getting  under  headway  in  twice  its  own  length, 
and  disappearing  down  the  road  in  a  cloud  of  dust. 

"She  would  rather  stay  where  she  can  help  him 
than  go  away  to  a  home  of  her  own  with  any  other 
man,"  Ellen  said  to  herself;  and  the  little  twinge 
of  envy  became  almost  a  pang.  She  stood  staring 
out  of  the  window,  her  dark  eyes  heavy  with  her 
thoughts,  her  lips  taking  on  a  little  twist  of  pain. 
Then,  presently,  she  lifted  her  head.  "She  will 
never,  never  let  him  know.  He  will  never  discover 
it  for  himself.  But  if  she  can  find  happiness  in 
being  of  use  to  him,  and  he  can  reward  her  by  being 


BEFORE  THE  LENS  259 

her  good  friend,  why  should  I  mind?  Can't  I  be 
generous  enough  for  that,  when  I  know  I  have  his 
heart?  Her  love  for  him  won't  hurt  him.  She 
can't  take  it  back,  but  she  will  never  let  it  show  so 
that  he  can  feel  more  of  it  than  is  good  for  him. 
It  is  so  little  for  me  to  spare  her  —  so  much  for  her 
to  have.  I  will  be  glad,  I  will  be  glad!" 

She  smiled  at  Bobby  Burns,  running  up  the  walk, 
but,  being  a  woman,  she  smiled  through  tears. 

The  little  lad  ran  in.  "Oh,  Auntie  Ellen,"  he 
cried,  "do  you  care  'cause  I  gave  my  new  ball  away? 
It  was  a  new  boy  came  to  school,  all  patched.  He'd 
never  .had  a  ball  in  his  life.  Uncle  Red  said  I  had 
to  be  good  to  other  boys,  'cause  I've  got  so  much 
more'n  some  of  them.  I  sort  o'  wanted  to  keep 
the  ball,  too,"  he  added,  regretfully.  "It  was 
a  dandy  ball." 

"But  it  was  nice  to  give  it  away,  too,  wasn't  it, 
Bob?" 

He  nodded,  looking  curiously  up  at  her.  "You're 
cryin',  Auntie  Ellen,"  he  said,  anxiously.  "Does 
sumpin'  hurt  you?" 

"Nothing  that  ought  to  hurt,  dear.  It's  too  bad 
that  being  generous  does  hurt  sometimes.  But  it 
ought  not  to  hurt,  when  we  have  so  much  more 
than  some  of  the  others,  ought  it,  Bob?" 


CHAPTER  XV 

FLASHLIGHTS 

PLEASE  tilt  your  parasol  back  the  least  bit  more, 
Miss    Austin.     That's    it!    Now  walk  toward 
me,  up  this  path,  till  you  reach  the  rosebush." 

Miss  Austin,  a  tall,  thin  young  woman  clad  in  white 
muslin  and  wearing  also  a  prim  expression  with  which 
her  photographer  had  been  struggling  for  some  time 
in  vain,  obeyed  these  directions  to  the  letter.  Her  lips 
in  lines  of  order  and  discretion,  her  skirts  hanging  in 
perfect  folds,  she  advanced  up  the  straggling  path, 
the  picture  of  maidenly  composure.  The  nearer  she 
drew  to  the  rosebush  the  more  fixed  became  the 
look  of  meeting  a  serious  obstacle  and  overcoming  it 
by  sheer  force  of  will. 

Charlotte  Ruston,  standing  by  her  camera  focussed 
on  the  spot  of  path  beside  the  rosebush,  drew  a 
stifled,  impatient  breath.  "I'm  going  to  scream  at 
her  in  a  minute,"  she  thought,  "or  fall  in  a  faint. 
I  wonder  which  would  startle  her  out  of  herself 
most. " 

"Do  you  mind,"  she  said  aloud,  "if  I  tell  you  how 
perfectly  charming  you  look?" 

260 


FLASHLIGHTS  261 

Miss  Austin's  lips  tightened  into  a  little  set  smile, 
more  artificial  than  ever.  But  just  as  she  reached 
the  rosebush  a  motor  car  rushed  up  the  street  and 
came  to  a  standstill  before  the  gate  in  Charlotte's 
hedge.  Out  of  the  car — a  conspicuous  affair  of  a 
strong  yellow  colour,  and  hitherto  unseen  in  the 
town — descended  a  figure  in  a  dust-coat,  a  figure 
upon  which  Miss  Edith  Austin  had  never  set  eyes 
before.  Pausing  by  the  rosebush  she  looked  toward 
the  scene  at  the  gate,  and  her  face  relaxed  into  an 
expression  of  alert  interest. 

The  camera  clicked  unnoticed.  Quicker  than  a 
flash  Charlotte  had  gone  through  a  series  of  motions 
and  had  made  a  second  exposure,  smiling  delightedly 
to  herself. 

"It's  a  gentleman  to  see  you,"  called  Miss  Austin, 
softly,  as  the  heavily  built  figure  in  the  dust-coat 
opened  the  gate  and  advanced  up  the  path. 

Miss  Ruston  made  all  secure  about  her  camera,  and 
turned  to  meet  the  full  and  smiling  gaze  of  the  new 
comer,  standing,  cap  in  hand,  just  behind  her.  He 
was  a  man  who  might  have  been  thirty  or  forty — it 
would  not  have  been  easy  for  a  stranger  to  tell  which 
at  first  glance,  for  his  fair  hair  was  thick  upon  his 
head,  his  face  fresh  and  unwrinkled,  and  his  eyes 
bright.  Yet  about  him  was  an  air  of  having  been 
encountering  men  and  things  for  a  long  time,  and  of 
understanding  them  pretty  well. 


26a  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

"Mr.  Brant!"  Charlotte's  tone  was  that  of  com 
plete  surprise. 

"You  were  not  expecting  me?"  He  shook  hands, 
gazing  at  her  in  undisguised  pleasure.  He  was  not 
much  taller  than  she,  and  the  afternoon  sun  was  at 
his  back,  so  he  had  the  advantage. 

'  CI  certainly  was  not.  How  does  it  happen  ?  A 
business  journey?" 

"A  most  luckily  opportune  one  —  for  me.  It 
brought  me  within  a  hundred  miles,  and  my  de 
scriptions  to  my  friend  of  an  interesting  region  did 
the  rest. " 

His  eyes  swerved  to  the  figure  of  Miss  Edith  Aus 
tin,  standing  tensely  by  the  rosebush,  an  observer 
whose  whole  aspect  denoted  eager  absorption  in 
the  meeting  before  her.  Charlotte  presented  him. 
Miss  Austin  expressed  herself  as  assured  of  his  being 
a  stranger  to  the  town  the  moment  her  eyes  fell 
upon  him. 

"And  a  very  dusty  and  disreputable  one,  I'm 
afraid, "  Mr.  Brant  declared.  '  'I  should  have  stopped 
at  some  hotel  and  made  myself  presentable,"  he 
explained  to  Charlotte,  "if  I  had  not  been  afraid 
I  should  lose  a  minute  out  of  the  short  time  Van 
Schoonhoven  agrees  to  leave  me  here." 

Charlotte  took  him  to  the  house  and  left  him 
politely  trying  to  converse  with  her  grandmother — 
at  tremendous  odds,  for  he  was  not  a  rival  of  Red 


FLASHLIGHTS  263 

Pepper  Burns  in  his  fondness  for  old  ladies,  not  to 
mention  deaf  ones.  The  photographer  returned  to 
her  sitter. 

"  I  have  several  pictures  of  you  now,  Miss  Austin, " 
she  said,  "and  I  think  among  them  we  shall  find 
one  you  will  like." 

"But  aren't  you  going  to  have  one  of  this  last 
pose?"  Miss  Austin  inquired,  anxiously.  "Of 
course,  I  know  you  have  company  now " 

"That  doesn't  matter.  But  I  have  two  exposures, 
by  the  rosebush,  and  I  think  they  are  both  good. 
I  have  kept  you  standing  for  quite  a  long  time,  and 
I  want  you  to  see  proofs  of  these  before  we  try  any 


more." 


"I  haven't  once  known  when  you  were  taking  me. 
I  can't  help  feeling  that  if  you  just  let  me  know 
when  you  were  going  to  take  the  picture  I  could  be 
better  prepared." 

"One  can  be  a  bit  too  much  prepared.  The 
best  one  I  ever  had  made  of  me  was  done  an 
instant  after  I  had  carelessly  taken  a  seat  where 
the  operator  requested.  I  looked  up  and  asked, 
'How  do  you  want  me  to  sit?'  He  answered, 
'Just  as  pleases  you.  I  have  already  taken  the 
picture.'" 

"Dear  me!  How  methods  change!  Our  best 
photographer  here  is  always  so  careful  about  every 
line  of  drapery,  and  just  how  you  hold  your  chin. 


264  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

I  don't  see  how  you  can  just  snap  a  person  and  be 
sure  of  an  artistic  result. " 

"You  can't.  And  perhaps  you  won't  like  these 
at  all.  But  I  will  show  you  proofs  to-morrow.  And 
if  they  are  not  right  we'll  try  again,  if  you  are 
willing. " 

Miss  Austin  went  away,  parasol  held  stiffly  above 
her  head,  though  the  sun  was  behind  her.  She 
was  wondering,  as  she  went,  who  the  man  was  who 
had  come  to  see  Miss  Ruston,  and  she  arrived  without 
much  difficulty  at  the  conclusion  that  he  was  prob 
ably  going  to  marry  her.  His  speech  about  being 
in  such  haste  to  reach  her  that  he  couldn't  take 
time  to  go  to  a  hotel  and  make  himself  neat  seemed 
to  her  sure  evidence  that  the  two  were  upon  a  footing 
more  intimate  than  that  of  mere  friendship. 

"If  you  are  not  too  proud,"  said  Miss  Ruston 
to  Mr.  Eugene  Brant,  "you  may  come  into  the 
kitchen  and  wash  your  hands  and  face.  Afterward 
you  may  stroll  about  my  garden  while  I  get  supper. " 

"I  am  not  too  proud  to  wash  my  face  in  your 
kitchen,"  responded  Mr.  Brant,  following  her  with 
alacrity,  "but  I  shall  not  be  willing  to  stroll  about 
your  garden  while  you  get  supper.  After  supper, 
if  you  like,  we  will  explore  it  to  its  mystic  end  down 
by  the  currant  bushes  I  see  from  the  window  here. " 

He  accepted  the  basin  of  water  Charlotte  gave 
him,  as  gracefully  as  she  presented  it,  dried  his  face 


FLASHLIGHTS  265 

upon  the  little  towel  she  handed  him,  and  declared 
himself  much  refreshed.  She  did  not  apologize  for 
the  lack  of  a  guest-room  where  he  might  remove 
the  signs  of  dusty  travel,  nor  did  she  allude  to  the 
absence  within  the  house  of  most  of  the  appliances 
considered  necessary  in  these  days  for  creature  com 
fort.  But  she  dismissed  him  to  the  garden  with  a 
finality  against  which  his  pleadings  to  be  allowed  to 
be  of  use  to  her  proved  of  no  avail,  and  only  when, 
after  a  half-hour,  she  appeared  in  the  doorway  with 
a  pail,  and  approached  the  old  well  nearby,  did  he 
discover  a  chance  to  show  his  devotion. 

"  If  you  knew  what  fun  I  should  consider  it  to  be 
carrying  plates  and  things  around  for  you  in  there," 
said  he,  as  he  drew  the  water  for  her,  "you  wouldn't 
keep  me  out  here.  What  do  you  imagine  I  came  a 
hundred  miles  out  of  my  way  for — to  study  the 
possibilities  of  landscape  gardening  as  applied  to 
miniature  estates  like  these  of  yours?' 

"You  might  do  much  worse,"  she  responded 
promptly.  "I  have  spent  not  a  little  thought  on 
just  how  much  trimming  to  give  my  old  shrubbery 
and  how  much  to  leave  in  a  wild  tangle.  Will  you 
come  in  now  and  have  supper?  We  will  take  it 
with  Granny  in  the  front  room." 

Mr.  Brant  was  hungry,  after  his  long  drive,  and 
he  eyed  with  satisfaction  the  small  table  by  the  door, 
set  out  with  fine  old  china  and  linen.  He  consumed 


266  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

two  juicy  hot  chops  with  keen  relish,  accompanied 
as  they  were  by  well-cooked  rice.  A  simple  salad 
followed,  and  gave  way  to  a  dish  of  choice  peaches, 
upon  which  his  hostess  poured  plenty  of  rich  cream. 
She  gave  him  also  two  cups  of  extremely  good  coffee, 
and  he  rose  from  the  repast  feeling  content,  though 
the  fact  that  he  had  made  a  heartier  meal  than 
either  of  the  ladies  had  not  escaped  him. 

By  and  by  he  had  his  way,  and  took  Charlotte 
out  to  the  garden.  Little  Madam  Chase  had  been 
put  to  bed  at  what  she  called  "early  candle-light," 
because  such  an  hour  best  suited  her. 

"Well,  are  you  going  to  do  me  the  honour  of 
telling  me  all  about  it?"  Mr.  Brant  asked,  as  he 
settled  himself  upon  the  old  bench  by  Charlotte's 
side.  He  scanned  her  closely  once  more  in  the 
waning  light. 

"What  do  you  want  me  to  tell  you?" 

"Just  what  I  ask  —  all  about  your  coming  here. 
How  you  get  on.  What  it  means  to  you.  Your 
hopes  —  your  fears,  if  you  have  any.  I  realize, 
better  than  you  do,  perhaps,  that  this  is  not  a  small 
venture  for  you  to  make.  I  am  interested  —  you 
understand  how  interested  —  to  know  just  the  situ 
ation." 

His  tone  was  that  of  a  brother,  warm  and  kind. 
She  responded  to  it. 

"I  am  doing  as  well  as  I  could  expect.      Almost 


FLASHLIGHTS  267 

every  day  I  have  a  sitter  —  sometimes  two.  My 
friends  are  very  good;  they  bring  me  every  one  who 
will  come.  People  seem  to  like  the  things  I  do  — 
some  of  them. " 

"Almost  every  day  you  have  a  sitter!"  he  repeated. 
"Do  you  call  that  doing  well?  How  long  have  you 
been  here?" 

"Just  seven  weeks.  Yes,  I  do  call  that  doing 
well.  It  takes  time  to  become  established,  of 
course.  Now  that  I  have  made  pictures  of  many 
of  the  prominent  people  others  will  follow,  I'm  con 
fident.  You  know  this  isn't  the  portrait  season  — 
too  many  have  cameras  of  their  own  and  are  taking 
snapshots  of  outdoor  scenes,  with  themselves  in  the 
foreground." 

"You  don't  find  yourself  wishing  you  had  stayed 
in  the  city,  as  I  advised?" 

"Not  a  bit.  I  want  more  experience  first.  1 
want  to  be  able  to  do  work  I  needn't  apologize  for 
when  I  really  begin  with  a  city  studio." 

"You  are  doing  finished  work,  in  my  opinion." 

"Not  in  mine." 

He  laughed.  "There  is  nothing  weak  about  your 
will,"  said  he. 

"I  hope  not.     I  need  a  strong  one.' 

"Granted,  if  you  mean  to  persist  in  making  your 
own  way.  But  I  live  in  hope  that  when  you  have 
demonstrated  to  your  own  satisfaction  that  you  are 


268  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

perfectly  competent  to  hew  out  that  way  for  your 
self,  you  will  be  willing  to  let  some  stouter  pair  of 
arms  take  a  turn  with  the  axe." 

His  tone  had  meaning  in  it,  but  she  turned  it 
aside. 

"Could  anybody  take  your  studio  away  from  you? 
Even  though  you  don't  do  it  for  a  living,  but  only 
because  you  adore  it,  could  you  be  induced  to  give 
it  up?" 

"I'm  not  trying  to  induce  you  to  give  yours  up. 
I'll  build  a  separate  one  for  you  right  beside  mine, 
any  time  you  say  the  word,  and  you  shall  pursue 
your  avocation  in  perfect  freedom.  All  I  object  to 
is  your  making  the  thing  your  vocation.  I  know 
of  a  better  one  for  you. " 

She  shook  her  head.  "We  went  over  all  this 
ground  —  over  and  over  it  —  before  I  came  away. 
Why  do  you  come  out  here  and  begin  it  all  over 
again?  I  don't  want  to  talk  about  it." 

"I  came  because  I  had  to  see  for  myself  what 
sort  of  a  place  you  were  in.  I  had  a  notion  that  it 
wasn't  good  enough.  It  isn't.  You  can't  be  com 
fortable  in  it,  through  the  most  of  the  year.  Neither 
can  Madam  Chase." 

"We  can  be  perfectly  comfortable."  She  spoke 
quickly  and  decidedly.  "You  know  absolutely  that 
I  wouldn't  sacrifice  what  is  dearest  to  me  in  the 
world  for  the  sake  of  having  my  own  way.  The 


FLASHLIGHTS  269 

little  house  is  primitive,  but  Granny  can  be  made  as 
snug  in  it  as  in  any  stone  mansion." 

"The  thing  may  tumble  down  about  your  ears  in 
the  first  high  wind." 

"It  will  not.  Dr.  Burns  went  over  it  thoroughly, 
and  says  it  is  much  more  substantial  than  it  looks." 

"Dr.  Burns!     May  I  ask  who  the  gentleman  is?" 

"My  neighbour  across  the  street.  He  is  devoted 
to  Granny,  and  had  as  many  fears  as  you  could  have 
before  he  tested  the  house. " 

"Is  he  married?" 

"Certainly."  It  was  impossible  to  help  laughing 
a  little  at  his  tone,  which  was  that  of  a  jealous 
boy. 

"Thank  heaven  for  that!  I'm  suspicious  of  men 
who  are  devoted  to  your  grandmother,  charming 
old  lady  though  she  is.  But,  in  spite  of  Dr.  Burns's 
invaluable  opinion,  I  must  beg  to  differ  with  him. 
You  can't  be  comfortable  in  that  chicken-coop 
through  the  winter." 

"I  don't  know,"  Charlotte  said  slowly,  sitting 
up  very  straight  in  the  twilight,  and  looking  steadily 
in  front  of  her,  "that  you  have  any  right  to  care 
whether  we  are  comfortable  or  not." 

"No  right  to  care?  Not  the  right  of  an  old 
friend?  Charlotte,  you  wouldn't  deny  me  that? 
Why,  child,  I  saw  you  grow  up.  I  was  your  father's 
trusted  friend,  in  spite  of  being  much  younger  than 


270  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

he.  And  I'm  not  so  much  older  than  you,  after  all 
—  only  fifteen  years.  You  might  at  least  let  me 
play  at  being  elder  brother  to  you." 

"I  did  let  you  play  that  for  a  long,  long  time. 
It  was  only  when  — — •" 

She  paused.     He  took  her  up. 

"Only  when  I  began  to  intimate  that  the  relation 
wasn't  fully  satisfying  that  you  began  to  give  me 
the  cold  shoulder.  You  haven't  even  written  to  me 
since  you've  been  here.  Are  you  aware  of  that?" 

She  nodded.  "There  was  nothing  to  write.  And 
I've  been  very  busy." 

He  drew  in  his  breath,  held  it  for  a  minute,  and 
let  it  go  again  explosively. 

"Charlotte,"  said  he,  presently,  "it  seems  to  me 
I've  lost  ground  with  you.  I  wish  I  knew  why. 
You  know  perfectly  well  that  I  won't  bother  you  with 
my  suit  if  you  won't  listen  to  it, —  at  least,  I  won't 
bother  you  with  it  all  the  time.  I  don't  promise 
to  give  up  hope.  But  what  I  can't  bear  is  to  have 
you  treat  me  as  if  you  wouldn't  have  even  my  friend 
ship  any  longer.  It  hurts  to  hear  you  say  I  have 
no  right  to  care  whether  you  live  in  a  comfortable 
home  or  not. " 

She  turned  impulsively.  "Then  I  take  it  back. 
You  have  a  certain  right,  it's  true.  You  have  been 
a  good  friend,  and  I  owe  you  much.  It's  because  I'm 
foolishly  sensitive  about  this  little  cottage.  I  can 


FLASHLIGHTS  271 

see,  of  course,  that  it  looks  like  a  poor  place  to  a  man 
who  lives  in  one  of  the  finest  houses  in  the  State  of 
Maryland,  but  I  can't  let  that  influence  me.  If  you 
happened  to  be  the  sort  of  man  who  loves  to  go  off 
into  the  woods  and  live  in  a  log  shack  for  a  whole 
hunting-season  you'd  understand  its  charm  for  me. 
I  don't  in  the  least  mind  washing  my  face  in  a  tin 
basin.  You  do  mind." 

"Not  when  you  offer  it.  But  it's  not  the  tin 
basin  I  object  to.  That  is " 

"It  is  the  tin  basin.  You  don't  like  to  see  a 
woman  live  in  such  a  plain  way.  But  I  tell  you 
this,  Mr.  Brant:  she  can  be  just  as  much  a  woman  of 
refinement " 

"My  dear  girl " 

"Yes,  I  lost  my  temper  for  a  minute,"  she  ad 
mitted.  "I  shouldn't  have  said  that.  I  shouldn't 
offend  you  by  implying  that  you  don't  know  it. 
What  I  mean  is  that  the  luxuries  you  consider 
essential  are  not  essential.  I  was  brought  up  among 
them.  I  loved  them  as  you  do.  It  is  good  for  me 
to  do  without  them  —  I  am  conscious  of  it  every 
day.  I  shall  be  a  stronger  woman  and  a  better 
woman  if  I  can  learn  not  to  care." 

"But  you  haven't  wholly  learned  yet."  He  said 
it  with  satisfaction. 

"/  have  learned!"  She  flung  it  at  him.  "I  don't 
mind  living  in  this  simple  way,  except  when  a  man 


272  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

like  you  comes  along  and  tries,  deliberately  tries, 
to  make  me  conscious  of  it." 

He  leaned  toward  her  with  a  sudden,  passionate 
gesture.  "Charlotte,  forgive  me!  It  is  because  I 
long  so  to  take  you  away  from  it,  to  give  you  the 
sort  of  home  you  have  known  in  the  old  days.  It 
fits  you  so  well  —  that  sort  of  home.  You  were  a 
princess  in  the  old  home;  you  would  be  a  queen  in 
a  new  one." 

"Oh,  don't!" 

"All  right,  I  won't." 

There  was  silence  between  them  for  some  time 
after  this.  Brant  sat  with  his  hands  clenched  and 
resting  upon  his  knees,  his  head  bent  a  little.  Char 
lotte  had  turned  and  laid  one  bended  arm  upon  the 
high  back  of  the  old  bench  —  her  head  rested  against 
it.  She  was  the  first  to  speak,  in  the  light  tone 
with  which  her  sex  is  accustomed  to  let  a  situation 
down  from  the  heights  of  strong  emotion  to  a  more 
normal  level. 

"What  do  you  do  with  a  sitter  who  won't  let  you 
bring  out  her  best  points,  but  insists  on  making 
herself  into  the  stiffest  sort  of  a  lay  figure?" 

"Chloroform  her  and  relax  the  tension."  Brant's 
tone  was  grim.  Then,  suddenly,  he  looked  up. 
"Will  you  let  me  go  in  and  make  a  flashlight  of  you 
by  a  new  method  I've  worked  out?  I  promise  you 
you'll  find  it  a  trick  worth  knowing." 


FLASHLIGHTS  273 

"I  shall  be  delighted.  You've  taught  me  half  I 
know,  and  I'm  more  grateful  than  I  seem." 

"I  hope  that's  true,"  he  said,  still  in  the  grim  tone, 
as  they  went  up  the  garden  path  toward  the  house. 

Inside  the  house  he  became  the  exponent  of  the 
art  of  which  he  was  past  master.  His  study  was  to 
him  only  a  diversion,  but  he  had  become  distin 
guished  in  it  as  an  amateur  who  played  at  being  a 
professional  for  the  interest  of  it,  and  who  possessed 
a  collection  of  photographic  portraits  of  half  the 
celebrities  in  the  world.  With  eager  interest  Char 
lotte  watched  him  manipulate  improvised  screens 
and  devices  for  casting  light  and  shadow,  and  when 
he  posed  her  understood  the  result  he  meant  to 
produce. 

"Oh,  that  will  give  a  new  effect!"  she  said, 
delightedly.  "I  should  never  have  thought  of  it 
in  the  world." 

"It  will  almost  absolutely  overcome  the  flatness 
of  the  flashlight,  as  you  will  see  when  we  develop 
it  —  if  you  will  let  me  stay  so  long.  Now " 

The  flash  flared  and  died.  Brant  smiled  with 
gratification.  If  he  knew  what  he  was  doing  he 
had  a  new  portrait  of  Charlotte  Ruston  which 
would  surpass  anything  he  had  yet  made  of  her. 
It  seemed  to  him  that  during  these  last  weeks  she 
had  grown  even  more  desirable  than  he  had  ever 
known  her.  There  had  always  been  a  spirit  and 


274  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

enchantment  about  her  personality  which  had  been 
his  undoing,  but  there  was  now  a  quality  in  it  which 
was  well  nigh  his  despair  —  the  quality  born  of  self- 
sacrifice  and  endeavour,  those  invisible  but  potent 
agencies  in  the  creating  of  the  highest  type  of 
womanly  charm. 

The  pair  went  into  the  dark-room  together.  Here, 
at  least,  Mr.  Brant  was  able  to  give  sincere  approval. 
Although  the  place  was  cramped  no  necessary 
detail  was  lacking.  Charlotte  had  not  spared  ex 
pense  in  transporting  material  or  in  fitting  the  spot 
with  the  requisite  conveniences  for  swift  and  sure 
work.  In  a  very  few  minutes  Brant  was  showing 
his  pupil  the  negative,  which  her  trained  eye  was 
fully  able  to  appreciate. 

"Oh,  that  will  make  a  perfect  print,"  she  ex 
claimed,  everything  else  forgotten  in  the  joy  of  the 
artist  over  the  overcoming  of  difficulties.  "You 
certainly  have  conquered  almost  the  last  obstacle  to 
the  making  of  flashlight  portraits.  That  will  be 
soft  as  daylight.  I  will  make  tire  print  to-morrow 
and  let  you  know." 

"You  don't  mean  to  send  me  merely  a  report  of 
its  appearance,  I  hope." 

She  laughed.  "Of  course  I'll  make  a  print  for 
you,  if  you  want  it.  Perhaps  you'll  admit,  when 
you  see  the  setting,  that  the  old  room  isn't  such  an 
inartistic  choice  for  a  photographer." 


FLASHLIGHTS  275 

"The  old  room  is  delightful  — as  a  background. 
But  when  your  feet  are  freezing  on  its  cold  floor,  in 

the  dead  of  next  winter Never  mind,  we  won't 

go  back  to  that.  I  admit  it's  a  September  night, 
and  there's  no  use  in  my  borrowing  trouble.  Besides, 
I  suppose  I  must  be  off  in  half  an  hour.  Let's  make 
the  most  of  it." 

They  sat  in  the  room  in  question  and  talked  of 
developers  and  fixing-baths,  of  processes  and  re 
sults,  and  Charlotte  found  such  interest  in  these 
technical  topics  that  she  glowed  and  sparkled  as 
another  woman  might  have  done  at  talk  of  quite 
different  things.  She  knew  well  enough  that  no 
body  could  give  her  greater  aid  or  inspiration  in 
her  work  than  Eugene  Brant,  whose  signature  upon 
any  portrait  meant  approval  in  the  large  world 
where  he  was  known. 

In  spite  of  his  over-heaviness  of  outline  he  was 
not  an  uninteresting  figure  as  he  sat  there.  His 
face  had  not  taken  on  superfluous  flesh  as  his  body 
had  acquired  weight,  and  its  lines  were  good  to  the 
eye  of  the  artist.  His  eye  was  clear,  his  smile  full 
and  not  lacking  in  a  certain  winning  quality  which 
spoke  of  sympathy  and  understanding.  One  who 
had  never  before  seen  him  would  not  doubt  that  here 
was  a  man  worth  acquaintance,  in  spite  of  the  fact 
that  his  only  labour  was  in  the  pursuit  of  a  fancy 
rather  than  in  the  making  of  a  living. 


276  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

The  hour  came  for  his  reluctant  departure.  Stand 
ing  on  Charlotte's  shaky  little  porch  he  looked  up 
at  her  as  she  stood  on  the  threshold  above  him. 
Against  the  light  in  the  room  behind  her  the  outlines 
of  her  lithe  young  figure  were  to  him  adorable.  He 
took  her  hand  and  held  it  for  a  minute  with  a  strong 
pressure  which  spoke  for  him  of  his  longing  to  keep 
it  in  his  permanent  possession. 

"Will  you  send  me  off  with  the  assurance  that  at 
least  my  friendship  is  still  something  to  you?"  he 
asked  her.  "You  can  be  as  independent  as  you 
like,  but  you  need  friends.  Or,  if  that  has  small 
weight  with  you,  let  me  appeal  to  your  generosity. 
I  need  your  friendship  even  more  than  you  need 


mine." 


"Unhappy  Mr.  Brant."  She  was  smiling.  "So 
few  friends,  so  few  pleasures,  he  needs  poor  Char 
lotte  Ruston's  support!" 

"Poor  Charlotte  Ruston  is  a  greater  inspiration 
to  Eugene  Brant's  good  work  than  any  dozen  of 
his  fashionable  patrons." 

"I  am  honoured  —  truly.  And,  of  course,  we  are 
friends,  the  best  of  friends.  I  will  send  you  the 
print  soon.  Thank  you  for  coming.  You  have 
helped  me  very  much." 

With  which  he  was  obliged  to  be  content. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

IN  FEBRUARY 

ONE  cold  December  morning  Charlotte  Ruston, 
sweeping  up  her  hearth  after  making  her  fire 
for  the  day,  preparatory  to  bringing  little  Madam 
Chase  downstairs,  heard  the  knock  upon  her  door 
which  heralded  Mrs.  Redfield  Pepper  Burns.  It 
was  a  peculiar  knock,  reminiscent  of  the  days  at 
boarding-school  when  certain  signals  conveyed  deep 
meaning.  This  particular  triple  tattoo  meant  "I 
have  something  to  tell  you." 

Charlotte  opened  the  door,  smiling  at  sight  of 
her  friend.  "You  are  worth  looking  at,  in  those 
beautiful  furs,  with  the  frost  on  your  cheeks,"  she 
said,  drawing  Ellen  in  to  the  fire,  and  passing  a 
caressing  hand  over  the  rich  softness  of  her  sleeve. 
"Furry  hat  and  furry  gloves  —  and  furry  boots,  too, 
probably  —  let  me  see?  I  thought  so,"  as  she 
examined  Ellen's  footgear.  "You  could  start  on  a 
trip  to  Greenland,  this  minute,  and  not  freeze  so 
much  as  the  tip  of  your  nose,  behind  that  wonderful 
muff." 

"It  will  be  Greenland  on,  the  Atlantic  liner  next 

277 


278  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

week,"  said  Ellen,  drawing  off  the  enveloping  coat 
at  Charlotte's  motion,  and  seating  herself  in 
Granny's  winged  chair.  "The  trip  to  Germany  is 
on  foot,  at  last.  Red  has  had  to  put  it  off  so  many 
times  I  began  to  think  we  shouldn't  get  away  this 
year  at  all.  But  he's  taken  our  passage  now,  and 
vows  that  nothing  shall  hinder.  So  I'm  packing 
in  rather  a  hurry,  for  we  mean  to  be  off  on  Saturday, 
though  we  shall  not  sail  until  Tuesday.  One  can 
always  use  a  day  or  two  in  New  York. " 

"Lucky  mortals.  I  wish  I  were  going  with  you.5' 
Charlotte  said  it  gayly,  but  her  eyes  were  suddenly 
wistful.  "How  long  shall  you  stay?  I  shall  miss 
you  horribly. " 

"I  wish  you  were  going,  dear.  Nothing  could 
make  me  happier.  We  should  be  a  great  party 
then,  for  Dr.  Leaver  goes  with  us.  It's  a  sudden 
decision  on  his  part.  Red  wrote  him  of  certain 
work  he  wanted  to  do  in  the  clinics  and  urged  him 
to  go  along,  thinking  it  would  be  just  the  thing 
for  him  now,  after  plunging  into  work  again  with 
such  a  will  You  know  they  spent  a  year  there 
together,  ten  years  ago,  and  Dr.  Leaver  wrote  that 
the  thought  of  going  over  the  old  scenes  with  Red 
tempted  him  beyond  resistance.  He's  been  across 
twice  since,  but  only  for  a  special  purpose  of  study. 
Of  course  both  will  do  more  or  less  observing  in 
clinics  now,  but  I  imagine  they  will  get  in  a  bit 


IN  FEBRUARY  279 

of  merrymaking  together.  If  I  only  had  you  to 
go  about  with  me  while  they  were  busy  I  should 
ask  nothing  better." 

"Shall  you  be  gone  all  winter?" 

"Oh,  no;  only  two  months  in  all.  Neither  Red  nor 
'Jack'  —  as  he  always  calls  him  —  feel  that  they 
can  spare  longer  than  that,  this  time.  So  by  the 
first  of  March  you  will  see  us  returning  to  our  own 
fireside,  and  probably  glad  enough  to  get  back  to  it. 
German  fires,  as  I  remember  them,  are  by  no  means 
as  hot  as  American  ones.  And  that  brings  me  to  my 
plan  for  you  and  Granny.  I  want  you  to  come  over 
and  live  in  the  house  in  our  absence.  There'll  be 
only  Cynthia  there,  for  Bob  is  to  stay  with  Martha. 
He  will  be  happier  over  there  with  her  boys  than 
with  Cynthia.  So  you  will  have  the  whole  house 
to  yourselves  and  can  be  as  snug  as  possible  all 
through  the  heaviest  part  of  the  winter." 

She  smiled  confidently  at  Charlotte,  seeing  no 
possible  reason  why  her  friend  should  object  to  a 
plan  so  obviously  for  the  comfort  of  all  concerned. 
But  to  her  surprise  Charlotte  slowly  shook  her  head. 

"It's  a  beautiful,  kind  plan,  and  exactly  like  you, 
but  I  couldn't  think  of  accepting  it. " 

"My  dearest  girl,  will  you  tell  me  why?  You 
would  be  doing  me  all  kinds  of  a  favour. " 

"No  favour  at  all.  Cynthia  doesn't  need  us  to 
help  her  take  care  of  the  house.  We  shall  be 


28o  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

perfectly  comfortable  here,  and  —  my  business  is 
here." 

"Charlotte,  I'm  afraid  you  won't  be  perfectly 
comfortable.  This  room  isn't  really  warm  this 
morning,  and  it's  not  an  extremely  cold  morning. 
Through  midwinter  we're  likely  to  have  very  heavy 
weather,  as  you  don't  know,  not  having  spent  a 
winter  here. " 

"Have  you?  Isn't  this  your  first  winter  North? 
You're  just  as  much  of  a  Southerner  as  I  am.  You 
don't  a  bit  know  about  Northern  winters.  You 
just  imagine  they  must  be  dreadful." 

"I've  heard  about  the  snowdrifts  over  the  fences, 
the  terrific  winds,  and  the  intense  cold.  The  storms 
will  beat  upon  this  little  old  house,  and  I  shall  think 
about  it  away  off  in  Germany  —  and  be  anxious. 
Please,  Charlotte,  don't  be  unreasonable.  Why 
in  the  world  shouldn't  you  dome  a  favour  like  this? 
Red  wants  it  just  as  much  as  I  do,  particularly  on 
the  grandmother's  account.  Think  how  comfortable 
she  would  be  in  my  living-room,  and  in  my  guest 
room.  And  I  should  so  love  to  have  her  there. " 

"I  suppose  I'm  an  ungrateful  person,  but  I  truly 
don't  want  to  do  it,  Len.  Of  course  you  know 
I  wouldn't  persist  in  a  course  that  I  thought  would 
do  Granny  harm,  but  I  don't  see  how  this  can. 
She  stays  in  bed  in  the  morning,  as  warm  as  toast, 
until  I  bring  her  down  here,  and  I  don't  bring  her 


IN  FEBRUARY  281 

until  the  room  is  thoroughly  warm.  I  give  her  her 
breakfast  here,  and  keep  her  perfectly  comfortable  all 
day,  as  she  can  tell  you.  At  night  I  take  her  up 
to  a  nest  as  cosy  as  a  kitten's,  and  she  has  her  hot 
milk  the  last  thing  to  send  her  off.  Not  a  breath 
of  discomfort  touches  her  beloved  head." 

The  two  looked  at  each  other,  Charlotte's  expres 
sion  proudly  sweet,  Ellen's  charmingly  beseeching. 

"I  can  see  it's  of  no  use,"  admitted  Mrs.  Burns, 
disappointedly,  "but  I'm  very  sorry.  Will  you 
promise  me  this?  If  at  any  time  it  seems  to  you 
that  my  plan  is,  after  all,  a  better  one  for  you  than 
your  own,  you'll  be  good  and  come  straight  over?" 

"I  promise  you  that  I'll  take  proper  care  of  both 
of  us,  and  love  you  for  a  devoted  friend.  That 
ought  to  satisfy  you.  Do  you  know  that  as  you  sit 
there,  with  that  furry  hat  on  your  head  and  your 
cheeks  glowing,  you're  the  prettiest  thing  north  of 
Mason-and-Dixon's  line?" 

"I  know  you're  a  flatterer,  as  you  always  were. 
If  I  can  rival  you  in  that  blue  cotton Char 
lotte,  do  you  think  you  ought  to  wear  cotton  in 
December?" 

"You  wear  gauze  and  low-cut  gowns  in  the 
evening  in  January,  don't  you?  —  and  would  in 
Labrador,  if  you  went  out  to  dinner.  What's  the 
difference  between  silver  tissue  in  the  evening  and 
blue  cotton  in  the  morning?" 


282  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

"Considerable  difference,  as  you  very  well  know. 
But  you're  impossible  to  argue  with  this  morning, 
and  I  must  run  back  to  my  packing.  Red  won't 
hear  of  my  taking  more  than  a  certain  quite  inade 
quate  amount  of  luggage,  and  I  have  to  plan  pretty 
closely  accordingly." 

"That's  good  for  you.  You  don't  know  the  first 
thing  about  curtailing  your  desires,  and  he  means 
to  teach  you.  Perhaps  he  won't  limit  you  as  to  how 
much  you  bring  home. " 

"I  hope  not.  We  shall  stop  for  a  week  in  Paris 
before  we  sail,  and  I  mean  to  bring  you  the  loveliest 
evening  frock  you've  had  in  a  long  time.  It's  no 
use  forbidding  me,  for  I  shall  do  it  just  the  same." 

"I'm  not  going  to  forbid  you,"  laughed  Charlotte 
Ruston,  with  her  cheek  against  the  furry  hat. 
"I  know  when  not  to  forbid  people  to  do  things 
I  want  them  to  do.  Only  make  it  blue,  my  blue, 
and  have  a  touch  of  silver  on  it,  and  I'll  wear  it  and 
think  of  you  with  adoration." 

"It's  a  bargain,"  and  Ellen  went  away  smiling, 
with  the  image  of  Charlotte  in  the  sort  of  blue-and- 
silver  gown  she  meant  to  bring  her,  effacing  for  the 
moment  the  other  image  of  Charlotte  in  a  blue 
cotton  house-dress  on  a  freezing  winter  morning, 
in  a  chilly  house. 

A  few  days  later  the  travellers  were  off.  When 
Red  Pepper  Burns  and  Ellen  came  in.  to  say  good-bye 


IN  FEBRUARY  283 

in  the  early  evening  they  found  the  little  house  as 
warm  as  even  the  most  solicitous  person  could  desire, 
and  both  the  elder  and  the  younger  inmate  looking 
so  rosy  and  happy  that  doubts  of  their  continued 
welfare  seemed  unreasonable.  Charlotte,  expecting 
them,  was  wearing  a  picturesque,  if  old  and  oft- 
rejuvenated,  trailing  frock  of  dull-rose  silk,  whose 
effect  was  to  heighten  the  already  splendid  colour 
in  her  face.  It  gave  her  also  a  certain  air  of  grand 
lady  which  seemed  hers  by  right,  whether  in  the 
dignified  old  drawing-room  Ellen  remembered  in 
the  Ruston  house,  or  in  this  small  apartment, 
illumined  by  fire  and  candle-light,  and  graced  by  a 
little  old  lady  in  cap  and  kerchief  of  fine  lace.  There 
were  flowers  on  the  table  under  the  candles,  and  a 
tray  with  delicate  glasses  and  a  plate  of  little  cakes. 
Altogether,  the  whole  atmosphere  of  the  room  was 
so  comfortably  hospitable,  and  the  charm  of  Char 
lotte's  gay  manner  so  convincing,  that  both  her 
guests  went  away  with  the  pleasant  sense  that  they 
left  real  home  happiness  under  the  patched  shingles 
of  the  roof,  and  contentment  greater  than  that 
found  beside  most  hearths. 

"Remember  that  James  Macauley  has  promised 
to  be  a  brother  to  you  in  my  absence,  and  will  see 
you  through  any  difficulty  that  may  arise,"  declared 
Burns,  shaking  hands.  "Arthur  Chester  claims 
the  same  privilege  and  both  will  be  only  too  happy 


284  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

to  be  called  on.  The  small  boys  will  vie  with  each 
other  to  keep  your  paths  shovelled,  and  Bob  wishes 
to  be  considered  guard-in-chief." 

"Cynthia  will  be  flattered  to  be  asked  to  help 
you  in  any  way,  dear,"  Ellen  urged.  "She  will  be 
lonely  with  no  one  to  cook  for, —  do  make  her  happy 
by  letting  her  do  things  for  you. " 

"You  dear  people,"  Charlotte  responded,  "be 
assured  that  Granny  and  I  will  remember  all  these 
counsels.  Don't  have  us  on  your  minds,  but  come 
back  to  us  with  the  first  crocuses,  and  know  that 
we  shall  be  wild  with  delight  at  seeing  you. " 

Burns  stooped  over  Madam  Chase's  chair,  and 
took  both  her  small  hands  in  his.  "What  shall 
I  bring  you  from  Germany,  dear  lady?"  he  asked. 

She  always  heard  him  better  than  she  heard  most 
people,  and  laughed  like  a  pleased  child  at  the 
question.  "I  spent  a  winter  in  Berlin,  when  I  was 
a  young  woman,"  said  she.  "I  remember  it  clearly 
enough.  There  was  a  little  shop  in  one  of  the 
streets  —  I  forget  just  which  —  where  they  sold 
pictures  of  the  emperor,  in  little  carved  frames. 
William  the  First,  it  was  then,  grandfather  of  the 
present  Emperor.  I  should  like  such  another  little 
picture  of  the  present  Kaiser  —  and  thank  you!" 

"You  shall  have  it  —  and  something  else,  of  my 
own  choosing,  if  I  may.  Good-bye,  dear  lady.  May 
I  kiss  you  good-bye?" 


IN  FEBRUARY  285 

She  permitted  the  privilege,  beaming  with  pleasure 
under  the  reverent  touch  of  her  fair  cheek.  Then 
she  gave  Burns  a  parting  admonition. 

"Take  good  care  of  that  wife  of  yours;  she  is  well 
worth  it,"  she  said. 

"I  realize  that  more  every  day,  Madam  Chase. 
I'll  take  care  of  her  —  with  my  life,"  he  said,  soberly, 
close  to  her  ear.  Then  he  bore  Ellen  away,  both 
looking  back  with  friendly  eyes  at  the  pair  they  left 
in  the  cottage,  and  wishing  them  well  with  all  their 
warm  hearts. 

They  had  barely  sailed  when  the  first  heavy 
snowfall  of  the  season  covered  the  world  with  a 
blanket  of  white,  and  this  was  the  forerunner  of 
almost  continuous  genuine  winter  weather.  No 
severe  storms  such  as  Ellen  had  prophesied  assailed 
the  region  until  the  first  of  February,  but  then 
came  such  a  one  as  deserved  no  other  name  than 
the  modern  term  of  blizzard,  a  happening  of  which 
Madam  Ruston  and  Charlotte  had  heard,  but  had 
never  genuinely  experienced. 

"  We're  going  to  show  you  the  real  article  this 
time,"  declared  James  Macauley,  stamping  his  way 
in  out  of  the  snow  one  evening,  when  the  storm  had 
been  in  progress  for  twenty-four  hours  without 
intermission.  "I  came  over  to  assure  you  that  if 
in  the  morning  your  roof  has  disappeared  under  a 
drift  you  may  rest  easy  in  the  knowledge  that  you 


286  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

will  surely  be  shovelled  out  before  noon.  My  wife 
sent  me  over  to  find  out  if  you  had  plenty  of  supplies 
on  hand." 

"We  weren't  provided  for  quite  so  long  a  siege, 
but  I  was  coming  over  to  telephone  from  your  house 
this  morning.  It's  a  great  storm,  isn't  it?  I  think 
it's  fun,  for  it's  my  first  experience.  Do  tell  your 
boys  to  come  over  and  make  a  snow  fort  or  some 
thing  in  my  front  yard. " 

"They'll  be  delighted,  when  the  storm  stops. 
There's  no  use  making  forts  now,  you  know. " 

"No,  I  didn't  know.  I  was  prepared  to  go  out 
this  morning  and  play  with  them. " 

Macauley  looked  at  her.  "Not  in  that  dress, 
I  hope,"  he  observed,  bluntly.  "It  beats  me,  the 
way  women  wear  their  thinnest  clothes  in  the 
coldest  weather.  I  wonder  how  I'd  feel  with  the 
kind  of  rig  you're  wearing.  And  it's  none  too  warm 
here,  it  strikes  me,  if  you  don't  mind  my  saying  it, 
in  spite  of  that  good-looking  fire. " 

"The  room  warms  rather  slowly  in  this  extreme 
weather,"  Charlotte  admitted.  She  was  standing 
close  to  the  fire,  in  the  unquestionably  summerlike 
dress  of  the  blue  cotton  she  chose  for  all  her  working 
frocks.  With  its  low  rolling  collar  and  short  sleeves 
it  certainly  did  not  suggest  comfort.  If  Macauley 
had  suspected  that  beneath  it  was  no  compensating 
protection,  he  would  have  been  considerably  more 


IN  FEBRUARY  287 

concerned  than  he  was.  His  wife  was  accustomed 
to  explain  to  him,  when  he  criticised  the  inadequacy 
of  her  attire,  that  she  fully  made  up  for  it  by  some 
extra,  hidden  warmth  of  clothing.  And  when  he 
complained  that  anyhow  she  didn't  look  warm 
she  invariably  replied  that  nothing  could  be  more 
deceiving  than  looks. 

He  walked  over  to  the  windows.  They  were 
rattling  stormily  with  each  gust  of  the  tempest 
raging  outside,  and  as  he  held  his  hand  at  their 
edges  he  could  feel  all  the  winds  of  heaven  raging  in. 

"Jupiter!"  he  exclaimed.  "No  wonder  you're 
cold.  That  stage  fire  of  yours  can't  warm  all  out 
doors.  I'll  send  for  some  window  strips  and  nail 
you  up." 

"Please  don't  bother,  Mr.  Macauley.  I  am 
going  to  stuff  them  with  cotton  myself,  and  that 
will  do  quite  well.  If  you  will  be  so  kind  as  to 
telephone  this  order  to  the  grocery  for  me  I  shall  be 
grateful,  though  I  hardly  see  how  the  delivery 
wagons  can  get  about." 

He  took  the  paper  she  handed  him,  and  absently, 
after  the  manner  of  the  householder,  his  eyes  scanned 
it. 

"  Why,  you  want  to  order  in  larger  lots  than  these !" 
he  exclaimed.  Then,  as  he  looked  up  and  saw  her 
smiling  without  reply,  he  reddened  and  stammered 
hastily:  "I  beg  your  pardon;  I  looked  without 


288  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

thinking.  But,  if  you  don't  mind  my  advising  you, 
I'd  say  double  each  of  these  items,  at  least;  it's 
economy  in  the  end.  And  —  where's  the  meat 
order?  Have  you  forgotten?" 

"There  are  eggs  on  the  grocery  list,"  said  Char 
lotte,  a  little  flame  of  colour  rising  in  her  own  cheek. 
"Granny  prefers  those.  But  you  may  double  each 
item,  if  you  wish.  Probably  you  don't  realize  that 
I'm  not  ordering  for  a  family  like  yours,  and  things 
spoil  quickly  when  kept  in  the  kitchen,  as  we  keep 


ours." 


"Of  course  you  know  your  own  affairs,"  mumbled 
Macauley,  in  some  embarrassment.  "  But,  if  you'd 
heard  R.  P.  Burns  charging  me  to  look  after  you 
as  if  you  belonged  to  me,  you'd  pardon  my  im 
pertinence.  " 

"I  appreciate  your  interest,"  Charlotte  assured 
him,  lightly.  "But  I'm  really  enjoying  the  new 
experience  of  this  storm  and  don't  mind  a  bit  how 
long  it  lasts.  Granny  is  warm  as  can  be  upstairs 
with  her  little  stove,  and  as  she  can't  hear  the 
wind  howl  her  spirits  aren't  in  the  least  depressed. 
I  admit  I  don't  just  love  to  hear  the  wind  howl. 
If  it  would  be  still  about  it  I  should  like  to  see  the 
snow  bury  my  whole  front  lawn  three  feet  deep. " 

"I'm  glad  you  take  it  that  way.  Martha  insists 
that  such  storms  are  very  depressing, —  principally, 
I  believe,  because  they  keep  her  from  running  in  to 


IN  FEBRUARY  289 

see  her  neighbours.  Well,  I  must  be  off.  I'll  send 
the  youngsters  over  to  shovel  a  path  to  your  front 
door;  I  had  to  wallow  through  myself." 

He  went  away,  and  the  storm  raged  on.  The 
boys  did  not  come  over;  their  labours  would  have 
been  of  small  avail  if  they  had  worked  never  so 
valiantly,  for  the  drifts  formed  faster  than  they 
could  have  been  shovelled  away.  Night  fell  with 
Nature  still  unappeased,  and  the  wind,  contrary 
to  the  prediction  of  the  grocer's  boy,  when  in  the 
late  afternoon  he  fought  his  way  in  with  his  basket 
of  supplies,  did  not  go  down  with  the  sun. 

In  the  middle  of  the  night,  Charlotte,  waking 
from  an  uneasy  sleep,  felt  the  house  rocking  so 
violently  with  the  tempest  that  she  became  alarmed. 
She  wondered  if  the  shaky  frame  could  withstand 
the  continued  shocks.  The  air  of  the  room  felt 
very  cold  to  her  cheek,  although  she  had,  out  of 
consideration  for  the  unusual  conditions,  refrained 
from  opening  wide  her  window.  The  rush  of  cold 
seemed  to  be  coming  from  the  door  which  opened 
into  her  grandmother's  room,  and  with  a  sudden 
fear  she  flew  out  of  bed  and  ran  to  investigate. 
With  the  first  step  inside  Madam  Chase's  door  her 
bare  foot  encountered  the  icy  touch  of  snow,  and 
she  realized  that  a  window  was  undoubtedly  open 
to  the  full  force  of  the  storm. 

Without  a  thought  of  herself  she  rushed  across 


29o  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

the  room,  understanding  what  must  have  happened: 
the  shaky  little  old  window  frame  had  blown  in, 
for  the  tempest  came  straight  from  that  direction. 
Yes,  she  stumbled  upon  it,  lying  on  the  floor.  She 
picked  it  up  and  tried  to  replace  it,  but  an  instant's 
struggle  convinced  her  that  this  was  impossible. 
With  a  cry  she  ran  to  the  bed,  herself  chilled  through, 
her  heart  beating  fast  with  fear.  How  long  had 
Granny  been  lying  there  in  the  onslaught  of  wind 
and  cold? 

She  seized  upon  the  small  figure  huddled  under 
the  blankets,  lifted  it,  blankets  and  all,  and  bore  it 
into  her  own  room.  She  laid  it  on  her  own  cot, 
covered  it  with  a  mountain  of  clothing,  and  crushed 
into  place  the  door  between  the  two  rooms.  Then, 
shaking  with  chill,  her  teeth  chattering,  she  dressed, 
answering  the  old  lady's  one  shivering  complaint: 

"I  thought  I  was  very  cold,  in  my  dreams, 
Charlotte.  What  has  happened?" 

"It's  all  right,  Granny, —  you  are  safe  in  my  room. 
I'll  get  you  warm  in  a  minute." 

She  ran  down  to  the  kitchen,  heated  water  over 
a  spirit-lamp,  and  made  a  stiff  little  hot  drink,  which 
she  carried  upstairs,  with  a  hot-water  bottle.  The 
bag  at  Granny's  feet,  the  stimulating  posset  drunk, 
Charlotte  felt  easier  about  her  charge  and  went 
next  at  the  task  of  making  her  comfortable  for  the 
remainder  of  the  night.  She  ran  down  again  and 


IN  FEBRUARY  291 

made  up  the  fire  in  the  fireplace,  convinced  that  she 
must  get  the  old  lady  downstairs,  now  that  with 
each  blast  the  terrible  wind  was  filling  one  room  with 
the  storm  and  battling  at  the  little  old  door  to  make 
an  entrance  into  the  other.  Then  she  put  on  a 
coat,  and  went  up  to  wrestle  with  Granny's  bed, 
while  the  wind  swept  round  her,  and  the  snow  flew 
across  the  room  and  stung  her  cheeks.  It  was  a 
hard  task,  getting  the  bed  apart  and  down  the  stairs, 
but  she  accomplished  it,  and  set  it  up  in  the  living- 
room,  far  from  the  windows  and  with  one  side  to  the 
fire.  Then  she  brought  down  springs  and  mattress, 
warmed  the  latter  thoroughly  at  the  blaze,  and  put 
it  in  place. 

"Now,  dear,"  she  said  presently,  bending  over 
the  cot,  "I'm  going  to  take  you  down  by  the  fire. 
It's  too  cold  for  you  up  here,  and  you'll  be  perfectly 
comfortable  there." 

Granny,  wrapped  in  many  blankets,  was  not 
quite  so  light  a  load  as  usual,  but  Charlotte  staggered 
down  with  her,  and  soon  had  her  at  ease  in  her 
bed,  freshly  made  up  and  warm  with  surrounding 
blankets.  The  room  itself  could  not  be  so  quickly 
warmed,  but  Granny  knew  no  discomfort  nor  realized 
that  her  niece,  with  all  her  exertions,  was  still 
shaking  now  and  then  with  chill  and  excitement. 
She  had  small  notion  of  the  anxiety  Charlotte  was 
suffering  concerning  her  frail  self. 


292  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

"You  must  get  the  window  replaced  at  once,  my 
dear,"  she  remarked,  sleepily,  from  among  her  pil 
lows.  "It  must  be  really  quite  a  storm.  I  could 
feel  the  bed  shake.  Down  here  it  seems  quieter." 

"Yes,  Granny,  much  quieter.  Go  to  sleep  now, 
and  make  up  for  lost  time. " 

Her  charge  forgot  to  ask  her  what  she  meant 
to  do  herself,  and  presently  dropped  comfortably  off 
into  a  deep  slumber.  Charlotte  piled  on  wood, 
making  a  rousing  fire,  and  sat  beside  it  for  the  rest 
of  the  night,  wrapped  in  a  blanket  in  the  winged 
chair.  She  shivered  away  the  hours,  unable  to 
become  warm  no  matter  how  close  to  the  fire  she 
crouched,  and  in  the  morning  was  conscious  that  she 
had  taken  a  severe  cold,  quite  as  might  have  been 
expected.  But,  as  her  chief  anxiety  was  relieved 
by  finding  that  Madam  Chase  awoke  apparently  in 
as  good  condition  as  ever  and  not  in  the  least  the 
worse  for  her  exposure,  Charlotte  made  light  to 
herself  of  her  own  ill  feelings. 

She  struggled  across  the  street  in  the  morning  to 
telephone  a  carpenter,  and  as  it  was  the  dull  season 
for  workmen  of  his  craft  obtained  one  immediately. 
He  proved  a  conscientious  person,  who  shook  his 
head  over  the  ancient  window  frame  and  advised 
putting  in  a  new  one  with  a  tightly  fitting  sash. 
By  night  the  room  was  secure  from  the  weather, 
and  Madam  Chase  insisted  on  returning  to  it,  in 


IN  FEBRUARY  293 

spite  of  Charlotte's  entreaties  that  she  remain  down 
stairs  until  the  storm  should  be  over. 

"Nonsense,  child,"  she  said  firmly,  "this  is  no 
place  for  me  and  my  bed.  Any  of  our  friends  are 
likely  to  come  in  at  any  time,  and  it  is  impossible 
to  keep  the  room  looking  properly  under  such 
conditions.  Besides,  I  much  prefer  my  own  room. " 

So  at  her  bedtime  Charlotte  moved  her  back  to 
her  quarters,  having  heated  them  to  a  summer 
temperature  with  the  small  oil-stove. 

"Poof !"  said  the  little  old  lady,  as  she  was  brought 
into  the  room.  "How  unnecessarily  warm  it  is  here! 
Just  because  a  storm  rages  outside,  dear,  why  should 
it  be  necessary  to  heat  this  room  so  stuffily?  The 
stove  consumes  the  air.  When  I'm  in  bed  you  must 
open  the  window  and  give  me  something  to  breathe. " 

"I  was  so  frightened  last  night,"  Charlotte  ex 
plained  hoarsely  in  Madam  Chase's  ear,  "I  feel  like 
doing  you  up  in  cotton  wool,  lest  such  another  icy 
wind  blow  on  you." 

"Why,  what  a  cold  you  have,  child!"  cried  her 
grandmother,  recognizing  this  undoubted  fact  more 
fully  than  she  had  yet  done.  "You  must  make 
yourself  some  hot  ginger  tea,  or  some  hot  lemonade, 
and  get  to  bed  at  once.  Promise  me  you  will  do  it, 
my  dear." 

Charlotte  nodded,  smiling  in  the  candle-light. 
Then  she  tucked  her  charge  in  with  more  than 


294  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

ordinary  care,  and  spent  some  time  in  arranging  the 
ventilation  of  the  room  to  her  satisfaction.  The 
storm  outside  was  still  heavy,  but  the  wind  was  less 
violent,  and  it  had  changed  its  quarter. 

She  went  downstairs  again,  finding  it  too  early  for 
her  own  bedtime,  weary  though  she  was.  Martha 
Macauley  presently  sent  over  a  maid  who  was  com 
missioned  to  send  Charlotte  across  for  an  evening 
with  the  family,  the  maid  herself  to  remain  with 
Madam  Chase.  "If  you  have  the  courage  to  come 
out  in  the  storm,"  the  note  read. 

"Fm  afraid  I  haven't,  thank  you,"  Charlotte 
wrote  back,  and  dismissed  the  maid  with  a  word 
of  sympathy  for  her  necessary  breasting  of  the 
drift-blown  passage  across  the  street. 

"Oh,  it's  awful  out,"  the  girl  said.  "I  don't 
think  Mrs.  Macauley  knows  how  bad  it  is,  not  being 
out  herself  to-day,  and  Mr.  Macauley  away. " 

Charlotte  made  up  her  fire  afresh,  and  pulling 
the  winged  chair  close  sat  down  before  it.  She 
was  cold  and  weary,  and  her  head  felt  very  heavy. 
She  had  put  on  a  loose  gown  of  a  thin  Japanese 
silk  —  dull  red  in  hue,  a  relic  of  other  days.  Her 
hair  was  loosely  braided  and  hung  down  her  back 
in  a  long,  dark  plait.  Upon  her  feet  were  slippers, 
about  her  shoulders  a  white  shawl  of  Granny's. 

All  the  gay  and  gallant  aspect  of  her,  as  her 
friends  knew  her,  was  gone  from  her  to-night,  as 


IN  FEBRUARY  295 

she  sat  there  staring  into  the  fire.  She  still  shivered, 
now  and  then,  in  the  too-thin  red  silk  robe,  and 
drew  the  shawl  closer.  Her  heart  was  as  heavy  as 
her  head,  her  mind  busy  with  retrospect  and  fore 
cast,  neither  enlivening.  The  courage  which  had 
sustained  her  through  almost  four  years  of  endeavour 
was  at  a  singularly  low  ebb  to-night.  It  had  ebbed 
low  at  other  times,  but  usually  she  had  been  able 
to  summon  it  again  by  a  mere  act  of  the  will,  by  a 
determination  to  be  resolute,  not  to  be  downcast, 
never  to  allow  herself  so  much  as  to  imagine  ultimate 
failure.  To-night,  although  she  told  herself  that 
her  depression  was  the  result  of  physical  fatigue, 
and  fought  with  all  her  strength  to  conquer  the 
hopelessness  of  the  mood,  she  found  herself  in  the 
end  prostrate  under  the  weight  of  thoughts  heavier 
than  the  spirit  could  bear. 

She  sat  there  for  an  hour;  then,  still  shivering, 
prepared  to  rake  the  ashes  over  the  remains  of  the 
fire  and  go  to  bed.  It  occurred  to  her  suddenly 
that  before  closing  things  up  below  she  would  see 
if  Madam  Chase  were  asleep,  or  if  she  might  need 
something  hot  to  drink  again,  as  sometimes  hap 
pened.  She  went  wearily  upstairs,  her  candle 
flickering  in  the  narrow  passageway.  It  seemed, 
somehow,  as  if  the  whole  house  were  full  of  small 
conflicting  winds  pressing  into  it  through  every  loose 
window-frame  and  under  each  sunken  threshold. 


296  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

She  stooped  over  the  bed,  the  candle-light  falling 
on  the  small,  white  face.  White  —  how  white! 
With  all  its  delicate  fairness,  had  it  ever  looked  like 
this  before?  With  a  sudden  fear  clutching  at  her 
heart  she  held  the  little  flame  lower.  .  .  . 

She  groped  her  way  half-blindly  down  the  stairs, 
the  candle  left  behind.  As  she  reached  the  foot 
a  stamping  sounded  upon  the  porch  outside  the 
living-room  door.  She  ran  toward  it, —  never  had 
sound  of  human  approach  been  so  madly  welcome. 
Before  she  could  reach  the  door  a  knock  fell  upon  it. 

She  wrenched  at  the  latch,  finding  the  door  frozen 
into  place,  as  it  had  been  all  through  this  weather. 
She  tugged  in  vain  for  a  moment,  then  a  voice 
called  from  the  other  side: 

"Look  out!     I'm  going  to  push!" 

With  a  catch  in  her  throat,  her  heart  pounding 
even  more  wildly  than  it  had  done  before,  she 
stood  aside.  What  voice  was  that?  It  couldn't  be 
possible,  of  course,  but  it  had  sounded  like  one  she 
knew  in  its  every  inflection,  one  which  did  not 
belong  to  any  of  her  nearby  friends.  It  could  not 
be  possible  —  it  could  not  —  but 

The  door  crashed  open,  and  a  mound  of  snow 
fell  in  with  it.  Striding  in  over  the  snow  came  a 
tall  figure  in  an  enveloping  great  coat,  covered 
with  white  from  head  to  foot,  the  face  ruddy  and 
smiling. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

FROM  THE  BEGINNING 

JOHN  LEAVER  turned  and  tried  to  close  the 
door,  but  the  mound  of  snow  prevented.  The 
wind  was  sweeping  in  with  fury.  "Go  away  from 
it,"  he  commanded.  "I'll  see  to  it." 

He  kicked  the  snow  out  with  his  foot,  crowded 
the  door  into  place,  and  turned  about  again.  He 
stood  still,  looking  at  the  figure  before  him,  with 
its  startled  face,  wide  eyes  staring  at  him,  breath 
coming  short.  Charlotte's  hands  were  pressed  over 
her  heart,  she  seemed  unable  to  speak. 

"Did  I  frighten  you,  rushing  in  upon  you  at  this 
time  of  night?"  The  smile  upon  his  face  died,  he 
looked  as  if  she  had  put  out  a  hand  to  hold  him  off. 
Then,  as  he  regarded  her  more  closely,  he  saw  that 
which  alarmed  him. 

"Is  something  wrong?  Has  something  hap 
pened?"  he  asked  hurriedly. 

She  nodded,  still  staring  with  a  strange,  wild 
look.  Then,  in  a  breath,  she  found  speech  and 
action. 

"Oh,  come!"  she  gasped.  "Granny  is  —  some- 

297 


298  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

thing  has  happened  to  Granny!"  and  ran  to  him 
and  caught  at  his  hand,  like  a  child,  pulling  him. 

"Just  a  minute,"  he  said,  quickly,  releasing  him 
self,  and  pulled  off  his  snow-covered  overcoat  and 
frozen  gloves,  and  threw  them  to  one  side.  Then 
he  put  out  his  hand  to  her. 

"Now!"  he  said,  and  they  ran  together  to  the 
stairs,  and  up  them.  At  the  top  Charlotte  paused. 

"In  there!"  she  whispered,  and  let  him  take  the 
lead. 

Her  hand  held  very  tight  in  his  he  crossed  the 
room.  He  took  up  the  candle  from  the  dressing- 
table,  approached  the  bed,  and  gave  the  candle  to 
Charlotte.  Letting  go  her  hand  then,  he  bent 
and  looked  closely  into  the  still,  peaceful  old  face 
.  .  .  made  a  brief,  quiet  examination.  . 

He  led  her  down  the  stairs  again.  She  was  fully 
blind  now,  seeing  nothing,  conscious  of  but  two 
things  —  the  sense  of  a  great  blow  having  fallen 
stunningly,  and  the  sense  of  being  held  firmly  by 
a  warm,  strong  hand.  She  clung  to  that  hand  as  if 
it  were  all  that  lay  between  sea  and  shore. 

In  the  living-room,  before  the  fire,  she  felt  the 
hand  draw  itself  gently  away.  But  then  she  found 
herself  clasped  in  two  warm  arms,  her  head  pressed 
gently  down  upon  a  strong  shoulder.  A  voice  spoke 
with  a  throbbing  tenderness  which  seemed  to  en 
velop  her: 


FROM  THE  BEGINNING  299 

"Don't  question  anything,  just  let  me  take  you 
to  my  heart  —  where  you  belong.  God  sent  me  to 
you  at  this  hour,  I'm  sure  of  it.  I  felt  it  all  the  way 
—  that  you  needed  me.  I  am  yours,  body  and 
soul.  Let  me  serve  you  and  take  care  of  you  as 
if  it  had  all  been  settled  long  ago.  Be  big  enough 
for  that,  dear." 

She  listened,  and  let  him  have  his  way.  What 
ever  might  come  after,  there  seemed  nothing  else 
to  do  now.  The  Presence  in  the  room  above  seemed 
to  have  changed  everything.  One  could  not  speak 
or  act  as  might  have  been  possible  an  hour  ago. 
Only  the  great  realities  counted  now.  Here  were 
two  of  them  confronting  her  at  once  —  Death  and 
Love.  How  could  she  be  less  primitively  honest 
in  the  face  of  one  than  of  the  other? 

He  put  her  in  the  winged  chair,  drew  the  white 
shawl  closely  about  her  shoulders,  dropped  upon 
one  knee  by  her  side,  and,  taking  possession  once 
more  of  her  hand,  spoke  low  and  decidedly: 

"I  will  go  over  to  the  Macauleys  and  send  Mrs. 
Macauley  to  you.  Then  Mr.  Macauley  and  I  will 
take  everything  in  charge  —  with  your  permis 
sion?" 

He  waited  for  her  assent.  She  gave  it  with  closed 
eyes,  her  head  tilted  back  against  the  wing  of  the 
chair,  her  lips  pressed  tight  together  that  they 
might  not  tremble. 


3oo  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

"You  will  want  to  take  her  to  Washington,  or 
on  to  South  Carolina?" 

"South  Carolina — where  she  was  born." 

"We  shall  not  be  able  to  start  till  the  storm  is 
over.  There  is  no  train  or  trolley  service  out  from 
the  city  to-night,  and  there  will  not  be  until  the 
wind  and  drifting  stops.  My  train  was  ten  hours 
late.  I  should  have  been  here  this  morning.  Mean 
while,  I  will  stay  just  where  you  want  me.  You  and 
Mrs.  Macauley  can  settle  that.  I  wish  for  your 
sake  Mrs.  Burns  were  here  —  and  Red." 

"They  are  not  here?  Then  —  how  did  you  come 
to " 

"Come  home  before  them?  I  couldn't  stay  away 
contentedly  as  long  as  they.  I  had  had  an  all- 
summer's  vacation,  and  wanted  to  be  at  work. 
But  I  came  from  the  ship  straight  up  here,  to  satisfy 
myself  that  all  was  well  with  you.  I  found  you 
—  needing  me.  Can  I  help  being  thankful  that  I 
came?" 

"Dr.  Leaver— ?" 

"Yes?" 

Charlotte  sat  up  suddenly,  opening  her  eyes, 
pressing  her  free  hand  again  over  her  heart  with 
that  unconscious  gesture  as  old  as  suffering. 

"If  I  had  not  insisted  on  keeping  Granny  here 
she  would  not  have  —  would  not  have " 

She  sank  back,  covering  her  face. 


FROM  THE  BEGINNING  301 

"What  had  her  being  here  to  do  with  it?  You 
took  every  care  of  her.  She  was  old  —  ripe  — 
ready  to  go.  The  wonder  is  that  she  has  lived  so 
long,  with  such  a  frail  hold  on  life." 

"But  —  she  had  an  exposure.  This  dreadful 
weather  —  night  before  last  —  her  window  blew  in 
—  she  was  chilled " 

Her  voice  broke.  With  difficulty  she  told  him 
the  story  of  the  experience.  He  lifted  her  hand  to 
his  lips  and  held  it  there.  After  a  minute  he  spoke 
very  gently: 

"I  doubt  if  that  had  anything  to  do  with  it.  It 
was  probably  the  crash  of  the  window  blowing  in 
that  woke  you,  although  you  did  not  know  it;  she 
may  not  have  lain  there  but  a  moment.  You  over 
came  the  slight  chill,  if  there  was  one,  with  your 
prompt  measures.  You  brought  her  downstairs, 
and  carried  her  back.  There  was  no  strain  what 
ever  upon  her,  it  was  all  upon  you.  Dr.  Burns  has 
told  me  that  her  heart-action  was  the  weakest  and 
most  irregular  he  had  encountered;  that,  at  any 
hour,  without  seeming  provocation,  it  might  stop. 
Why  should  you  mourn?  It  was  a  happy  way  to 
go  —  merely  to  stop  breathing,  as  her  attitude  and 
expression  show  she  did.  Her  hour  had  come  — 
you  had  nothing  to  do  with  it.  Take  that  to  your 
heart,  and  don't  blame  yourself  for  one  moment 


302  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

She  lay  back  in  the  chair  again,  relaxing  a  little 
under  the  firm  words. 

"Shall  I  go  now  and  send  Mrs.  Macauley?  It 
is  nearly  ten  o'clock,  time  we  were  letting  them 
know.  But  before  I  go  let  me  tell  you  one  thing, 
then  I  will  say  no  more  to-night.  There  is  no  more 
now  to  come  between  us  than  there  was  a  year  ago 
when  —  listen,  Charlotte  —  we  knew  —  we  both 
knew  —  that  we  belonged  to  each  other,  and  nothing 
waited  but  the  spoken  word.  I  dare  to  say  this  to 
you,  for  I  am  sure,  in  my  inmost  soul,  that  you  know 
as  well  as  I  do  where  we  stood  at  that  time.  And  — 
the  thing  is  gone  which  came  between  us  afterward." 

He  stood  up,  put  on  his  coat,  said  quietly:  "You 
shall  be  alone  but  a  very  short  time,"  and  went 
out. 

Left  alone  Charlotte  laid  both  arms  suddenly 
down  upon  the  arm  of  the  chair  —  Granny's  chair 
—  and  broke  into  a  passion  of  weeping.  It  lasted 
only  for  a  little  while,  then  she  raised  herself  sud 
denly,  threw  back  her  head,  lifted  both  arms  high  — 
it  was  an  old  gesture  of  hers  when  she  was  command 
ing  her  own  self-control  —  gripping  the  clenched 
fists  tight.  Then,  as  steps  and  the  sound  of  voices 
were  heard  outside,  she  stood  up,  holding  herself 
quietly. 

When  Mrs.  Macauley  came  in,  excitedly  sym 
pathetic  and  eager  to  comfort,  she  found  a  quiet 


FROM  THE  BEGINNING  303 

mourner  ready  to  talk  with  her  more  composedly 
than  she  herself  was  able  to  do.  Martha,  shocked 
though  she  was  by  the  sudden  call,  was  full  of  curi 
osity  as  to  the  return  of  John  Leaver,  and  only 
Charlotte's  reticent  dignity  of  manner  kept  back  a 
torrent  of  eager  questions. 

"It's  certainly  very  fortunate  he's  here,"  she 
admitted.  "He  can  take  charge  of  the  journey 
South,  knowing  trains  and  routes  much  better  than 
Jim  or  I  do.  Of  course  we  will  go  with  you,  dear. 
I  judge  from  what  Dr.  Leaver  says  he  will  go  all 
the  way  —  which  will  certainly  be  a  comfort.  He 
seems  so  strong  and  capable  —  so  changed  from  the 
way  he  acted  when  he  first  came  here,  languid  and 
indifferent.  Oh,  how  sorry  Red  and  Ellen  will  be 
not  to  be  here!  Red  was  so  fond  of  dear  Madam 
Chase." 

Martha  proved  not  unpleasant  company  for  that 
first  night,  for  her  practical  nature  was  always  get 
ting  the  better  of  her  notion  that  she  must  speak 
only  of  things  pertaining  to  the  occasion.  She  went 
out  into  Charlotte's  kitchen  and  stirred  about  there, 
returning  with  a  tray  of  light,  hot  food.  She  had 
been  astonished  at  the  meagreness  of  the  supplies 
she  found,  but  made  no  comment. 

"You  must  keep  up  your  strength,  my  dear  girl," 
she  urged,  when  Charlotte  faltered  over  the  food. 
"It's  a  long  way  between  now  and  the  time  when 


3o4  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

it  will  be  all  over.  We  may  be  delayed  a  day  or 
two  in  getting  off,  and  delayed  all  the  way  down. 
I  hear  this  storm  is  raging  all  over  the  country." 

Her  words  proved  true.  It  was  two  days  before 
the  little  party  could  be  off.  During  that  time 
Charlotte  was  overwhelmed  with  attention  from 
her  neighbours.  The  Macauleys  and  Chesters  could 
not  do  enough.  Either  Winifred  or  Martha  was 
constantly  with  her,  and  their  presence  was  not 
ungrateful.  John  Leaver  came  and  went  upon  er 
rands,  never  seeing  Charlotte  alone,  but  making  no 
effort  to  do  so,  conveying  to  her  by  his  look  or  the 
grasp  of  his  hand  the  comradeship  which  she  felt 
more  convincingly  with  every  passing  hour.  His 
personality  seemed  somehow  as  vital  and  stirring 
as  the  course  of  a  clear  stream  in  a  desert  place. 

At  the  short,  private  service  which  preceded  the 
departure  of  the  party  for  the  train,  he  came  and 
took  his  place  beside  her  in  a  quiet  way  which  had 
in  it  the  quality  of  a  right.  Although  he  did  not 
touch  or  speak  to  her  the  sense  of  his  near  presence 
was  to  her  like  a  strong  supporting  arm.  When 
the  moment  came  to  leave  the  room  she  heard  his 
whisper  in  her  ear  and  felt  his  hand  upon  her  arm: 

"Courage!     You  are  not  going  alone,  you  know." 

It  went  to  her  heart.  On  the  threshold  she  sud 
denly  looked  up  at  him  through  her  veil,  and  met  in 
return  such  a  look  as  a  woman  may  lean  upon.  Her 


FROM  THE  BEGINNING  305 

heart  throbbed  wildly  in  response,  throbbed  as  only 
a  sad  heart  may  when  it  realizes  that  there  is  to  be 
balm  for  its  wounds. 

All  through  the  long  journey  Charlotte  felt 
Leaver's  constant  support,  although  he  made  no 
further  effort  to  define  the  relation  between  them, 
even  when  for  a  short  space,  now  and  then,  the 
two  were  alone  together.  Instead  he  talked  of  his 
hurried  trip  abroad  with  the  Burnses,  and  once, 
when  they  were  pacing  up  and  down  a  platform, 
at  a  long  stop,  he  told  her  of  his  visit  to  a  certain 
noted  specialist  in  Berlin. 

"I  had  had  a  breakdown  in  my  work  last  spring," 
he  said,  in  a  quite  simple  way,  as  if  he  were  speaking 
of  something  unimportant.  "I  had  made  up  my 
mind  that  I  could  never  hope  fully  to  recover  from 

its  effects.  Dr.  Z told  me  that  I  was  perfectly 

recovered,  that  I  was  as  sound,  mentally  and  phys 
ically,  as  I  had  ever  been,  and  that,  if  I  used  ordi 
nary  common  sense  in  the  future  about  vacations 
at  reasonable  intervals,  there  was  no  reason  why 
the  experience  should  ever  be  repeated.  This  as 
surance  was  what  sent  me  home.  I  found  I  couldn't 
stay  in  Germany  and  go  sightseeing  with  my  friends 
after  that.  I  wanted  to  be  at  work  again." 

"I  wonder  that  Dr.  Burns  didn't  want  to  rush 
home  with  you,"  Charlotte  observed  —  though  it 
was  not  of  Red  Pepper  she  was  thinking.  This 


3o6  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

simple  statement,  she  knew,  was  the  explanation  he 
was  giving  her  of  the  thing  he  had  said  to  her  last 
August  under  her  apple-tree.  It  made  clear  to  her 
that  which  she  had  suspected  before  —  it  somehow 
seemed,  also,  to  take  away  the  last  barrier  between 
them. 

"Burns  needed  the  change  —  he  hasn't  had  a 
vacation  except  his  honeymoon  for  years.  By  the 
way,  he's  having  a  second  honeymoon  over  there." 

"I'm  very  glad,"  Charlotte  responded. 

Then  the  summons  came  for  the  return  to  the 
train,  and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Macauley,  waving  to  them 
from  the  other  end  of  the  platform,  met  them  at 
the  step. 

On  the  morning  of  the  third  day  the  party  reached 
their  destination.  They  were  met  at  the  small 
station  by  a  staid  but  comfortable  equipage,  driven 
by  an  old  family  coachman  with  grizzled,  kinky 
hair  and  a  black  face  full  of  solemnity.  They  were 
taken  to  the  hospitable  home  of  the  owner  of  the 
dignified  old  carriage  and  the  fat,  well-kept  horses 
which  had  brought  them  to  her  door,  and  were 
there  welcomed  as  only  Southern  hostesses  can  wel 
come.  Mrs.  Catesby's  mother  had  been  a  friend 
of  Madam  Chase's  youth,  and  for  her  sake  the 
daughter  had  thrown  open  her  house  to  do  honour 
to  the  ashes  of  one  whom  she  had  never  seen. 

"How   glad   I   am,"   Charlotte    said,   soon  after 


FROM  THE  BEGINNING  307 

her  arrival,  standing  by  a  window  with  kind  Mrs. 
Catesby,  "to  come  down  here  where  it  is  spring.  I 
could  never  have  borne  it  —  to  put  Granny  away 
under  the  snow.  She  didn't  like  the  snow,  though 
she  never  said  so.  Are  those  camellias  down  by 
the  hedge?  Oh,  may  I  go  out  and  pick  some  — 
for  Granny?" 

"I  thought  you  might  like  them  —  and  might 
want  to  pick  them  yourself,  or  I  should  have  had 
them  ready.  I  sent  for  no  other  flowers.  I  remem 
ber  my  mother  telling  me  how  Madam  Chase  loved 
them  —  as  she  herself  did." 

From  an  upper  window,  in  the  room  to  which  he 
had  been  assigned,  Leaver  saw  Charlotte  go  down 
the  garden  path  to  the  hedge,  there  to  fill  a  small 
basket  with  the  snowy  blooms.  When  she  turned 
to  go  back  to  the  house  she  found  him  beside  her. 

"I  see  now  why  you  wanted  no  other  flowers," 
he  said,  as  he  took  the  basket.  "These  are  like 
her  —  fair  and  pure  and  fragile." 

"She  was  fond  of  them.  She  wore  them  in  her 
hair  when  she  was  a  girl.  They  have  no  fragrance; 
that  is  why  I  want  them  for  her  now.  How  people 
can  bear  strong,  sweet  flowers  around  their  dead  I 
can  never  understand." 

"I  have  always  wondered  at  that,  too,"  Leaver 
admitted.  "My  mother  had  the  same  feeling." 
He  looked  closely  at  Charlotte's  face,  as  the  bright 


3o8  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

sunlight  of  the  Southern  spring  morning  fell  upon 
it.  "You  are  very  tired,"  he  said,  and  his  voice 
was  like  a  caress.  "Not  in  body,  but  in  mind  — 
and  heart.  I  wish,  by  some  magic,  I  could  secure 
for  you  two  full  hours'  sleep  before  —  the  hour." 

"I  couldn't  sleep.  But  I  am  strong,  I  shall  not 
break  down." 

"No,  you  will  not  break  down;  that  wouldn't  be 
like  you.  And  to-night  —  you  shall  sleep.  I  prom 
ise  you  that." 

"I  wish  you  could,"  Charlotte  said,  and  her  lips 
trembled  ever  so  slightly.  "But  I  shall  not." 

"You  shall.  Trust  me  that  you  shall.  I  know 
a  way  to  make  you  sleep." 

However  that  might  be,  she  thought,  his  presence 
was  now,  as  all  through  this  ordeal,  the  thing  which 
stood  between  her  and  utter  desolation.  A  few 
hours  later,  when  he  stood  beside  her  at  the  place 
which  was  to  receive  that  which  they  had  brought 
to  it,  she  felt  as  if  she  could  not  have  borne  the 
knowledge  that  she  was  laying  away  her  only  re 
maining  kinswoman,  if  it  had  not  been  for  the  sense 
of  protection  whrch,  even  at  the  supreme  moment, 
he  managed  to  convey  to  her.  Her  hand,  as  it  lay 
upon  his  arm,  was  taken  and  held  in  a  close  clasp, 
which  tightened  possessively  upon  it,  minute  by 
minute,  until  it  was  as  if  the  two  were  one  in  the 
deep  emotion  of  the  hour. 


FROM  THE  BEGINNING  309 

All  the  beauty  of  spring  at  her  tenderest  was  in 
the  air,  as  the  little  party  turned  slowly  away,  in  the 
light  of  the  late  afternoon  sun.  Somewhere  in  the 
distance  a  bird  was  softly  calling  to  its  mate. 

Behind  Charlotte  and  Leaver,  the  kindly  old 
clergyman  who  had  been  Madam  Chase's  lifelong 
friend  was  gently  murmuring: 

"  *  Dust  is  dust,  to  dust  returneth, 
Was  not  written  of  the  soul.'  " 

Upon  the  evening  of  that  day,  spent  as  such  even 
ings  are,  in  subdued  conversation  at  a  hearthside, 
Leaver  came  across  the  room  and  spoke  to  Charlotte. 

"I  am  wondering,"  he  said,  "if  a  short  walk  in 
the  night  air  won't  make  you  fitter  for  sleep  than 
you  look  now.  It  is  mild  and  fine  outside.  Will 
you  come?" 

"It  will  do  you  good,  Miss  Ruston,"  urged  her 
hostess,  who  had  taken  a  strong  liking  to  Dr.  Leaver. 
The  Macauleys  seconded  the  suggestion  also,  and 
Charlotte,  somewhat  reluctantly  as  to  outward  man 
ner,  but,  in  spite  of  sorrow  and  physical  fatigue, 
with  a  strong  leap  of  the  heart,  made  ready. 

As  her  companion  closed  the  door  behind  them 
Charlotte  understood  that  she  was  alone  with  him 
at  last,  as  she  had  not  been  alone  with  him  in  all 
these  days,  even  when  no  person  was  present.  She 
had  small  time  in  which  to  recognize  what  was  com- 


3io  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

ing,  for,  almost  instantly,  it  was  at  hand.  There 
was  a  small  park  opposite  the  house,  and  to  the 
deserted  walk  which  circled  it  she  found  herself  led. 

"Dear,"  Leaver's  voice  began,  in  its  tenderest 
inflection,  "I  have  a  curious  feeling  that  no  words 
can  make  it  any  clearer  between  us  than  it  already 
is.  Last  winter  we  knew  how  it  was  with  us  • — • 
didn't  we?  Won't  you  tell  me  that  you  knew? 
It  is  my  dearest  belief  that  you  did." 

"Yes,  I  knew,"  Charlotte  answered,  very  low. 

"To  me  it  was  the  most  beautiful  thing  I  had 
ever  dreamed  of,  that  two  people  could  so  under 
stand  and  belong  to  each  other  before  a  word  was 
said.  When  the  time  came  to  speak,  and  —  the 
thing  had  happened  that  made  it  impossible,  I  can 
never  tell  you  what  it  meant  to  me.  When  I  found 
you  there  in  the  North  it  seemed  as  if  the  last  ounce 
had  been  added  to  the  burden  I  was  bearing.  I 
couldn't  ask  for  your  friendship;  I  couldn't  have 
taken  it  if  you  had  given  it  to  me.  I  had  to  have 
all  or  nothing.  Can  you  understand  that?" 

She  nodded.  She  put  up  one  hand  and  lifted  the 
thin  black  veil  she  was  wearing,  and  turned  her  face 
upward  to  the  stars.  They  were  very  bright,  that 
February  night,  down  in  South  Carolina. 

"But  now,"  he  went  on,  after  a  moment,  "it  is 
all  plain  before  us.  Charlotte,  am  I  a  strangely 
presumptuous  lover  to  take  so  much  for  granted? 


FROM  THE  BEGINNING  311 

I  don't  even  ask  if  you  have  changed.  Knowing 
you,  that  doesn't  seem  possible  to  me.  I  have  never 
wooed  you,  I  have  simply  —  recognized  you !  You 
belonged  to  me.  I  was  sure  that  you  so  recognized 
me.  It  has  been  as  I  dreamed  it  would  be,  when 
I  was  a  boy,  dreaming  my  first  dreams  about  such 
things.  I  have  known  many  women  —  have  had 
a  few  of  them  for  my  very  good  friends.  I  never 
cared  to  play  at  love  with  any  one;  it  didn't  interest 
me.  But  when  I  saw  you  I  loved  you.  I  won't 
say  'fell  in  love;'  that's  not  the  phrase.  I  loved 
you.  The  love  has  grown  with  every  day  I  have 
known  you  —  grown  even  when  I  thought  it  was 
to  be  denied." 

"I  know,"  Charlotte  said  again,  and  now  she  was 
smiling  through  tears  at  the  friendly  stars  above 
her. 

"Yes,  you  know,"  he  answered,  happily.  "That's 
the  wonderful  thing  to  me  —  that  you  should  know." 

A  little  path  wound  through  the  park,  as  deserted 
as  the  street.  He  led  her  into  this,  and,  pausing 
where  a  group  of  high-grown  shrubs  screened  them 
from  all  possible  passers-by,  he  spoke  with  all  the 
passion  he  had  hitherto  restrained. 

"Charlotte,  are  you  my  wife?  Tell  me  so  —  in 
this!" 

He  laid  one  arm  about  her  shoulders,  his  hand 
lifted  her  face  as  he  stooped  to  meet  it  with  his  own. 


3i2  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

When  he  raised  his  head  again  it  was  to  look,  as  she 
had  looked,  toward  the  stars. 

"That  was  worth,"  he  said  tensely,  "all  the  pain 
I  have  ever  known."  Then  as  he  led  her  on  he  spoke 
again  with  an  odd  wistfulness. 

"Dearest,  I  have  talked  about  our  love  not  need 
ing  words,  and  yet,  I  find  I  want  to  hear  your  voice 
after  all.  Will  you  tell  me,  in  words,  how  it  is  with 
you?  I  want  to  hear!" 

After  a  moment  she  answered  him,  softly,  yet  with 
a  vibrant  sweetness  in  her  tone.  "John  Leaver,  it 
is  as  you  say.  I  have  known,  from  the  first,  that 
I  —  must  love  you.  You  made  me,  in  spite  of  my 
self.  I  couldn't  —  couldn't  help  it!" 

He  bent  his  head,  with  a  low  murmur  of  happiness. 
Then:  "And  I  thought  I  could  do  without  words!" 
he  said. 

For  the  first  time  in  many  days  Charlotte's  lips 
curved  suddenly  into  the  little  provoking,  arch 
smile  which  was  one  of  her  greatest  charms. 

"I  never  thought  I  could!"  she  said. 

He  laughed.  "You  shall  not!  And  now  I'm 
going  to  speak  some  very  definite  words  to  which  I 
want  a  very  definite  answer.  Charlotte,  you  are  — 
I  can't  bear  to  remind  you  —  as  far  as  kinspeople 
go,  quite  alone  in  the  world.  There  is  no  reason 
why  that  should  be  true.  The  nearest  of  all  rela 
tions  can  be  yours  to-morrow.  Will  you  marry  me 


FROM  THE  BEGINNING  313 

to-morrow,  before  we  go  North?  Then  we  shall  be 
quite  free  to  stop  in  Baltimore  or  to  go  on  as  you 
prefer.  I  can  go  with  you,  at  once,  to  close  up  the 
little  house,  if  you  wish.  Is  there  any  reason  why 
we  should  stay  apart  a  day  longer?" 

"I  don't  know  of  any  that  would  appeal  to  you. 
But  there  is  one." 

"May  I  know  it?" 

She  hesitated.  "I'm  —  very  shabby,"  she  said, 
reluctantly;  "much  shabbier  than  you  can  guess." 

"We'll  go  by  the  way  of  New  York,  and  you  can 
buy  all  you  need.  That's  an  objection  which  turns 
into  an  argument  for  the  other  side,  for  I  want  very 
much  to  see  a  certain  old  friend  in  New  York,  who 
was  out  of  town  when  I  landed  last  week.  I  can  do 
it  while  you  shop.  Doesn't  that  convince  you?" 

"I  can  let  it  —  if  you  really  think  it  is  best  to  be 
in  such  haste." 

"Why  not?  Why  should  we  waste  another  day 
apart  that  we  could  spend  together?  At  its  longest 
life  is  too  short  for  love." 

"Yes,"  she  murmured. 

"I'm  thankful,  very  thankful,  that  you  are  too 
womanly  to  insist  on  any  prolonging  of  what  has 
certainly  been  separation  enough.  I  felt  that  you 
wouldn't.  Oh,  all  through,  it  has  been  your  woman 
liness  I  have  counted  on,  dear, —  an  inexhaustible, 
rich  mine  of  sense  and  sweetness." 


3i4  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

"You  rate  me  too  high,"  Charlotte  protested, 
softly.  "I'm  only  a  working-woman,  now,  you 
know.  All  the  old  traditions  of  the  family  have  been 
set  aside  by  me." 

"You  have  lived  up  to  their  traditions  of  nobility 
understood  in  just  a  little  different  way.  It  is  these 
years  of  effort  which  have  made  you  what  you  are. 
If  I  had  known  you  in  the  days  before  trouble  came 
to  you  I  might  have  admired  your  beauty,  but  I 
shouldn't  have  loved  your  soul." 

"Then"  —  she  looked  up  into  his  face  —  "I'm 
glad  for  everything  I've  suffered." 

The  sunlight  was  pouring  in  again,  next  morning, 
when  Charlotte  awoke.  She  lay,  for  a  little,  look 
ing  out  into  the  treetops,  holding  the  coming  day 
against  her  heart. 

"I  can't  believe  it;  oh,  I  can't  believe  it,"  she 
whispered  to  herself.  "A  week  ago  so  heavy  and 
forlorn  and  poor  —  to-day,  in  spite  of  losing  Granny, 
so  rich,  rich.  I'm  to  be  —  his  wife  —  this  day  — 
his  wife!  O  God!  make  me  fit  for  him;  make  me 
fit  to  take  his  love!" 

When  she  went  downstairs  she  found  him  waiting 
at  the  foot,  looking  up  at  her  with  his  heart  in  his 
eyes,  though  his  manner  was  as  quiet  and  composed 
as  ever.  At  his  side  stood  Martha  Macauley,  ex 
cited  and  eager.  The  moment  that  Leaver's  hand 


FROM  THE  BEGINNING  315 

had  released  Charlotte's  Martha  had  her  in  her 
arms. 

"You  dear  girl!"  she  cried.  "Of  all  the  romantic 
things  I  ever  heard  of!  I'm  so  upset  I  don't  know 
what  to  do  or  say,  except  that  I  think  you're  doing 
just  exactly  right.  It's  as  Dr.  Leaver  says;  there 
isn't  a  thing  in  the  way.  Why  shouldn't  you  go 
back  together?  Only  I  wish  Ellen  and  Red  were 
here;  they're  certain  to  feel  cheated." 

"We'll  try  to  make  it  up  to  them,"  Leaver  said, 
smiling. 

"It's  all  right,"  declared  James  Macauley,  joining 
them.  "  I  like  the  idea  of  getting  these  things  over 
quietly,  without  any  fuss  over  trunkfuls  of  clothes. 
If  a  lady  always  looks  like  a  picture,  whatever  she 
wears,  why  should  she  need  fairly  to  jump  out  of 
her  frame  because  she's  getting  married?" 

Upstairs,  a  little  later,  Martha,  coming  in  upon 
Charlotte,  as  she  bent  over  a  tiny  trunk,  put  a 
solicitous  question: 

"My  dear,  if  there's  anything  in  the  world  I  can 
lend  you,  will  you  let  me  do  it?  I  have  a  few  quite 
pretty  things  with  me,  and  I'd  love  to  give  them  to 
you." 

Lifting  a  flushed,  smiling  face  Charlotte  answered: 
"That's  dear  of  you,  but  I  think  I  have  enough  — 
of  the  things  that  really  matter.  I've  only  this  one 
travelling  dress,  but  as  we  shall  go  straight  to  New 


3i6  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

York  I  can  soon  have  the  frock  or  two  I  need.  It's 
so  fortunate  I  brought  a  trunk  at  all.  When  I  came 
away  I  was  so  uncertain  just  what  would  happen 
next,  or  how  long  I  might  want  to  stop  on  the  way 
back,  that  I  put  in  all  the  white  things  I  had  there." 

"And  beautiful  white  things  they  are,  too,  if  that 
is  a  sample,"  said  Martha,  noting  with  feminine  in 
terest  a  dainty  garment  in  Charlotte's  hands. 
"You're  lucky  to  have  them." 

"My  mother  left  stores  and  stores  of  such  things, 
and  I've  been  making  them  into  modern  ones  ever 
since.  They  are  my  one  luxury,"  and  Charlotte 
laid  the  delicate  article  of  embroidered  linen  and 
lace  in  its  place  with  a  loving  little  pat,  as  if  she  were 
touching  the  mother  to  whom  it  had  belonged. 
"Otherwise  I'm  pretty  shabby.  Yet,  I  can't  seem 
to  mind  much." 

"You  don't  look  shabby.  You  look  much  trimmer 
and  prettier  in  that  suit  and  hat  than  I  in  mine, 
though  mine  were  new  this  fall.  If  you  knew  how 
I  envy  you  that  look  you  would  be  quite  satisfied 
with  your  old  clothes,"  said  Martha,  generously. 
"And  as  for  the  husband  you  are  getting  —  well  — 
I  suppose  you  know  you're  in  the  greatest  sort  of 
good  fortune.  All  the  way  down  here  I've  been 
watching  him  —  Jim  says  I  haven't  done  anything 
else  —  and  I  certainly  never  saw  a  man  who  seemed 
so  always  to  know  how  and  when  to  do  the  right 


FROM  THE  BEGINNING  317 

thing.  If  ever  there  was  a  gentleman,  born  and 
bred,  Dr.  Leaver  is  certainly  that  one.  And  he's  a 
man,  too  —  a  splendid  one." 

"I'm  so  glad  you  recognize  that,"  said  Charlotte, 
a  joyous  ring  in  her  voice. 

Ten  o'clock,  the  hour  set  for  the  marriage,  came 
on  flying  feet.  Before  Charlotte  could  fairly  realize 
it  she  was  walking  down  the  street  of  the  small 
Southern  village  to  the  little  old  church  which  Mrs. 
Rodney  Rutherford  Chase  had  attended  as  a  girl. 
The  old  rector  who  met  them  there  had  been  a  life 
long  friend  of  the  Chase  family.  Then,  in  a  sort 
of  strange  dream,  Charlotte  found  herself  standing 
by  John  Leaver's  side,  listening  to  the  familiar  yet 
quite  new  and  strange  words  of  the  marriage  service. 
She  heard  his  voice,  gravely  repeating  the  solemn 
vows,  her  own,  following  them  with  the  vows  which 
correspond,  then  the  old  rector's  deep  tones  an 
nouncing  that  they  two  were  one  in  the  sight  of 
God  and  man. 

She  felt  her  husband's  kiss  upon  her  lips,  and, 
turning,  lifted  her  tear-wet,  shining  eyes  to  his.  At 
that  moment  they  two  might  have  been  alone  in 
the  world  for  all  their  consciousness  of  any  other 
presence. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

THE    COUNTRY    SURGEON 

REDFIELD  PEPPER  BURNS  and  Mrs.  Burns 
returned  from  their  stay  in  Germany  just 
three  months  later  than  they  had  intended.  The 
opportunities  for  extended  study  and  observation 
had  proved  so  tempting  to  the  surgeon  who  had 
taken  only  a  fortnight's  vacation  in  several  years 
that  he  had  decided  to  make  the  most  of  them. 
The  pair  had  been  kept  fully  informed  of  the  progress 
of  events,  had  wept  tears  of  gentle  grief  over  the 
news  of  Granny's  sudden  passing,  and  had  smiled 
with  satisfaction  over  that  which  shortly  followed 
it  —  the  news  of  the  marriage  which  had  immediately 
taken  place. 

Charlotte  had  written  to  her  friend  a  brief  descrip 
tion,  which  —  Ellen  reading  it  aloud  to  her  husband 
—  had  called  forth  his  sparkling-eyed  comment: 

"  It's  rather  refreshing  to  find  a  woman  who  doesn't 
make  clothes  the  most  important  part  of  the  cere 
mony,  isn't  it?  No  doubt  at  all  but  Jack's  found 
the  right  woman,  eh?" 

"No  doubt  in  the  world,"  and  Ellen's  eyes  silently 

318 


THE  COUNTRY  SURGEON      319 

went  over  the  few  paragraphs  again,  reading  between 
the  lines,  as  a  woman  will,  and  as  Charlotte  had 
known  she  would. 

"I  thought  I  couldn't  possibly  sleep  that  night, 
when  it  had  all  been  arranged,"  —  the  letter  ran  — 
"though  I  was  so  tired  with  all  I  had  been  through- 
But  in  an  hour  I  had  gone  straight  off,  and  slept 
like  a  child,  my  head  on  such  a  soft,  soft  pillow  of 
confidence  and  rest.  O  Len,  —  to  lie  on  a  pillow 
like  that,  after  months  of  laying  my  unhappy  head 
on  stones! 

"At  ten  next  morning  we  went  to  the  little  stone 
church,  all  overgrown  with  ivy,  where  Granny  was 
a  communicant  so  many  years,  and  there  we  were 
married,  with  Mrs.  Catesby,  Mr.  Macauley  and 
Martha  for  witnesses,  and  Dr.  Markham,  the  dear 
old  rector,  to  give  us  his  blessing.  After  that  John 
and  I  walked  over  to  the  place  where  we  had  laid 
dear  Granny  the  day  before. 

"It  wasn't  sad,  Len;  how  could  it  be?  The 
flowers  were  still  fresh  over  her,  and  that  blessed 
sunshine  was  so  bright,  —  as  it  is  in  South  Carolina, 
I  think,  when  all  the  rest  of  the  world  is  dark. 
When  we  came  away  I  felt  as  I  often  have  when 
I  have  put  that  little  frail  body  to  bed  and  tucked 
her  in  and  blown  out  her  candle  —  as  if  she  must 
surely  sleep  well  till  morning.  I  am  sure  she  will 
—  sure! 


320  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

'  "Our  whole  party  came  North  together  as  far 
as  Harrisburg,  then  John  and  I  said  good-bye  to 
them  and  came  over  to  New  York,  where  I  am 
writing  to  you,  now.  I  am  buying  a  few  simple 
clothes,  just  enough  to  begin  to  live  with  in  my 
new  home.  In  a  few  days  we  go  to  Baltimore, 
where  we  shall  settle  down  in  the  house,  which  is 
just  as  it  was  left  when  John's  mother  died,  five 
years  ago.  He  says  I  may  change  anything  I  wish, 

-but  from  all  I  know  of  his  mother  and  himself  I 
imagine  that  I  shall  not  care  to  make  many  changes 
in  so  fine  an  old  place.  He  has  his  offices  in  a 
wing  —  I'm  so  glad  of  that.  She  wanted  him  at 
home,  and  so  shall  I. 

"Len,  you  will  want  to  know  if  I  am  happy. 
Do  I  need  to  tell  you?  All  my  old  readiness  of 
speech  fails  me  when  I  come  to  this.  In  spite  of 
the  way  talk  bubbles  from  me,  on  ordinary  subjects, 
you  know  I  have  never  said  much  of  the  big  things  of 
my  life.  I  didn't  tell  you  a  word  of  all  there  was 
between  your  guest  of  last  summer  and  me.  Neither 
can  I  talk  about  it  now. 

"Just  this,  to  satisfy  you,  dear.  Every  time  I 
look  at  his  beautifully  strong,  sweet,  grave  face, 
at  his  splendid  quiet  confidence  of  manner,  as  he 
leaves  me  to  go  away  to  do  some  of  the  wonderful 
work  he  does,  or  comes  back  to  me  after  having 
done  that  work,  I  realize  what  it  means  to  be  the 


THE  COUNTRY  SURGEON  321 

wife  of  such  a  man.  Oh,  yes,  I  am  happy,  Len,  so 
gloriously  happy  I  can't  tell  you  another  word 
about  it!" 

When  Burns  and  Ellen  landed  in  New  York 
in  late  May  they  were  met  by  a  telegram.  Burns 
read  it  hurriedly,  re-read  it  with  a  laugh,  and  handed 
it  to  his  wife. 

"Seems  peremptory,"  he  commented.  "Shall 
we  let  Jack  dictate?  It  will  mean  only  a  short 
delay,  and  though  I'm  anxious  to  get  home  I'd  like 
mighty  well  to  see  them,  shouldn't  you?" 

The  despatch  read: 

"  Important  clinic  on  Thursday  should  like  your  assistance 
my  wife  urges  the  necessity  of  seeing  Mrs.  Burns  without  fur 
ther  delay  please  take  first  train  for  Baltimore. 

"LEAVER." 

"Yes,  I  want  to  see  them,"  Ellen  agreed.  "I'm 
quite  willing  to  delay  if  you  will  send  Bob  a  telegram, 
all  to  himself,  explaining  and  telling  him  to  tell 
the  rest. " 

"That  will  please  him  enough  to  make  up  for  our 
failure  to  arrive  on  the  promised  day.  We'll  run 
down  for  twenty-four  hours  with  them,  at  least. 
.  .  .  I  confess  I'm  eager  to  see  Jack  do  one 
of  his  big  stunts  again.  And  I'll  wager  I  can  show 
him  one  trick  that  even  he  doesn't  know  —  the 
last  thing  I  got  at  Vienna,  under  W " 


322  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

He  sent  off  the  message  to  Bobby  Burns  without 
delay,  and  despatched  another  to  Leaver,  announ 
cing  their  arrival  that  evening.  In  two  hours  more 
they  were  on  their  way,  and  at  six  o'clock  they 
were  met  in  the  Baltimore  station  by  Leaver 
himself. 

"See  the  old  chap  grin!"  said  Burns  in  his  wife's 
ear,  when  they  descried  the  tall  figure  in  the  distance, 
coming  toward  them  with  smiling  face  and  alert 
step.  "Can  that  be  the  desperately  down  person 
who  came  to  us  last  June?  He  looks  as  if  —  in  a 
perfectly  quiet  way  —  he  owned  the  city  of  Balti 
more!" 

"How  well,  how  splendidly  well,  he  looks!" 
Ellen  agreed. 

Then  they  were  shaking  hands  with  Dr.  John 
Leaver  and  listening  to  his  hearty  greeting: 

"This  is  great  of  you  two  —  great.  We  certainly 
appreciate  it.  Come,  I'll  have  you  at  home  before 
you  know  it.  Charlotte  is  waiting  with  the  warmest 
welcome  you  will  find  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic!" 

He  hurried  them  away,  but  not  so  fast  that 
Red  Pepper  Burns  did  not  find  time  to  chuckle: 
"The  power  of  association  is  beginning  to  tell 
already,  Jack.  That  was  the  most  impetuous 
speech  I  ever  heard  from  your  lips.  I  don't  call 
such  language  really  restrained  —  not  from  you. " 

Leaver  turned,  laughing,  to  Ellen.     "One  would 


THE  COUNTRY  SURGEON  323 

think  I  had  been  the  most  solemn  fellow  known 
to  history,"  said  he. 

In  two  minutes  he  had  bestowed  his  guests  in  a 
small  but  luxuriously  appointed  closed  car,  had 
given  the  word  to  his  chauffeur,  and  had  taken  his 
place  facing  them.  Burns  examined  the  landau's 
interior  with  interest. 

"The  evidence  of  a  slight  but  unmistakable  odour 
tells  me  that  this  is  the  jewel-box  in  which  Balti 
more's  gem  of  a  surgeon  keeps  his  appointments," 
said  he.  "Well,  the  Green  Imp's  beginning  to  show 
traces  of  her  age,  but  her  successor  will  be  no  aristo 
crat  of  this  type.  I'd  rather  drive  myself  and  freeze 
my  face  to  a  granite  image  than  be  transported  in 
cotton-wool,  like  this. " 

Leaver  and  Ellen  laughed  at  his  expression. 

"Of  course  you  would,"  Leaver  agreed.  "And 
equally  of  course  every  friend  and  patient  of  yours 
would  grieve  to  see  you  shut  up  behind  glass  windows 
with  another  hand  on  the  steering-wheel.  It's 
unthinkable  and  out  of  the  question  for  you,  but  for 
me  —  it's  rather  practical. " 

Burns  nodded.  "Saves  time  —  and  carries  pres 
tige.  I  understand.  You  city  fellows  have  to  play 
to  the  galleries  a  bit,  particularly  when  you've 
reached  the  top-notch  and  people  demand  that  you 
live  up  to  it.  It's  all  right.  But  I  should  feel 
smothered.  And  as  for  letting  any  young  man  in  a 


324  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

livery  manage  my  spark  and  throttle, —  well,  not 
for  mine,  as  I  have  already  remarked. " 

Leaver  looked  at  him  as  one  man  looks  at  another 
when  he  loves  him  better  than  a  brother.  Then  he 
put  a  question  to  Red  Pepper's  wife:  "Can  any 
one  wonder  that  there  seems  something  missing 
in  America  when  he  spends  the  winter  in  Germany?" 

She  shook  her  head.  "I  never  mean  to  find  out 
what  America  is  like  when  he  is  out  of  it, "  said  she. 

Burns  regarded  them  both.  "And  I  suppose 
you  think  you  and  Mrs.  John  Leaver  are  just  such 
another  pair?"  he  said  then,  to  his  friend. 

"Just  such  another,"  was  the  decided  answer. 

The  car  came  to  a  standstill  before  a  stately 
stone  house,  its  walls  heavy  with  English  ivy. 
In  another  minute  the  entrance  doors  were  open, 
and  the  party  were  inside.  A  radiant  figure  in 
white  was  clasping  Ellen  Burns  in  eager  arms,  while 
a  blithe  voice  cried : 

"Oh,  my  dear,  this  is  so  good,  so  good  of  you! 
We  couldn't  be  entirely  satisfied  until  we  had  seen 
you  here!" 

"Seeing  you  here,"  declared  Burns,  shaking  hands 
vigorously,  when  his  turn  came,  and  regarding 
Charlotte  with  approving  eyes,  "reminds  me  of  one 
of  Jack  Leaver's  favourite  old  maxims,  which  he 
used  unsparingly  while  he  was  chumming  with  me: 
'A  place  for  everything  and  everything  in  its  place.' 


THE  COUNTRY  SURGEON      325 

The  demonstration  of  that,  raised  to  the  nth  power, 
is  certainly  what  I  now  see  before  me!" 

Charlotte's  glowing  eyes  met  her  husband's  fixed 
upon  her.  She  gave  him  back  his  smile  before  she 
answered  Burns: 

"Thank  you,  Dr.  Red  Pepper.  Your  approval 
was  all  that  was  lacking." 

"Didn't  I  cable  my  approval  with  a  reckless  dis 
regard  of  expense?" 

"Indeed  you  did.  But  you  couldn't  cable  the 
italics  that  are  in  your  face  —  and  it  was  the  italics 
that  we  wanted!" 

Upstairs  in  the  rooms  of  old-time  elegance  and 
comfort  to  which  Charlotte  assigned  them,  Burns 
demanded  to  know  how  such  quarters  looked  to  his 
wife. 

"You  could  put  our  whole  house  into  that  great 
living-room  of  theirs,"  he  asserted.  "As  for  these 
two  rooms,  they  would  take  in  our  whole  upper 
story.  Don't  you  suppose  stopping  here  will  make 
you  feel  cramped  at  home?" 

Ellen,  arranging  her  hair  before  a  low  dressing- 
table  of  priceless  old  mahogany,  shook  her  head  at 
him  in  the  mirror. 

"Not  a  bit,"  she  denied. 

"You  used  to  live  in  a  home  like  this  one. " 

"Not  nearly  so  fine.  Dr.  Leaver  is  a  rich  man 
by  inheritance,  entirely  apart  from  his  practice. 


326  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

Between  the  two  he  must  have  a  very  large  yearly 
income.     My  family  was  not  a  rich  one,  only " 

"Only  old  and  distinguished.  Leaver  has  both  — 
family  and  money.  Not  to  mention  power.  Your 
friend  Charlotte  ought  to  be  a  happy  woman. " 

"She  surely  ought,  and  is.  But  not  happier 
than  the  woman  you  see  before  you. " 

Burns  came  close,  lifted  a  strand  of  silky  dark 
hair  and  drew  it  through  his  fingers.  Then  he 
stooped  and  put  it  to  his  lips. 

"You  stand  by  the  country  doctor,  do  you?" 
he  murmured. 

"Always  and  forever,  dear. " 

"And  yet  you  are  a  city  woman,  born  and  bred. " 

"What  has  that  to  do  with  it?  I  should  rather 
drive  in  the  Green  Imp  over  the  country  hills  with 
you  than  ride  in  the  most  superb  limousine  in  Balti 
more  —  with  any  one  else. " 

He  gathered  her  close  in  his  arms  for  a  minute. 
"Begone,  dull  envy,"  said  he.  "From  this  moment 
I'll  rejoice  with  Jack  over  every  worldly  possession 
and  envy  him  nothing,  not  even  the  power  to  give 
his  wife  everything  the  world  counts  riches. " 

They  went  down  to  such  a  dinner  as  such  homes 
are  famous  for.  The  candle-light  from  the  fine  old 
family  candelabra  fell  upon  four  faces  brilliant  with 
the  mature  youthfulness  which  marks  the  years 
about  the  early  thirties,  the  richest  years  of  all 


THE  COUNTRY  SURGEON  327 

yet  lived.  The  splendid  colour  of  the  crimson  roses 
in  the  centre  of  the  table  was  not  richer  in  its  bloom 
than  that  in  Charlotte's  cheeks,  nor  the  sparkle 
of  the  lights  more  attractive  than  that  in  Ellen's 
dark  eyes.  As  for  the  two  men  —  all  the  possible 
achievement  of  forceful  manhood  seemed  written 
in  their  faces,  so  different  in  feature  and  colouring, 
so  alike  in  the  look  of  dominant  purpose  and  the 
power  born  of  will  and  untiring  labour. 

During  dinner  a  telephone  call  summoned  Leaver 
to  a  consultation.  Immediately  at  its  close  he  went 
away,  carrying  Burns  with  him. 

"You  can't  take  me  to  a  consultation,  Jack," 
Burns  had  objected,  with,  however,  a  betraying 
light  of  eagerness  in  his  eye.  He  had  been  four 
months  away  from  work  —  he  was  hungry  for  it 
as  a  starving  man  for  food. 

"Can't  I?"  Leaver  answered,  coolly.  "Come 
along  and  see.  It's  a  chance  to  give  the  patient 
the  opinion  of  an  eminent  specialist  just  back  from 
Berlin." 

"I'm  no  specialist." 

"Aren't  you?  I  think  you  are.  Specialist  in 
human  nature,  which,  if  the  reports  of  this  case 
are  true,  is  the  particular  sort  of  diagnosis  called 
for.  Trust  me,  Red,  and  —  put  on  your  gloves!" 

Burns  had  grinned  over  this  suggestion.  He  hated 
gloves  and  seldom  wore  them,  but  out  of  consider- 


328  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

ation  for  his  friend  —  and  Baltimore  —  he  extracted 
a  pair  of  irreproachable  ones,  fresh  from  Berlin,  and 
donned  them,  with  only  a  derisive  word  for  the 
uselessness  of  externals  as  practised  by  city  pro 
fessionals. 

Left  alone  with  Charlotte,  in  a  pleasant  corner 
of  a  stately  library,  by  an  open  window  through 
which  she  had  watched  the  departure  of  the  two  men 
in  the  landau,  Ellen  turned  to  her. 

"I  can't  tell  you,"  she  said,  "how  happy  it  makes 
me  to  see  your  happiness.  John  Leaver  is  so  exactly 
the  man,  out  of  all  the  world,  who  is  the  husband  for 
you.  From  all  I  know  of  you  both,  it  seems  to  me 
I  never  saw  a  pair  more  perfectly  mated. " 

"I'm  glad  it  looks  so  from  the  outside,"  breathed 
Charlotte,  softly.  She  too  had  watched  the  depart 
ing  pair;  waving  her  hand  as  her  husband,  under 
the  electric  light  at  the  entrance,  had  turned  to  lift 
his  hat  and  signal  farewell.  She  still  stood  by  the 
window,  through  which  the  soft  air  of  the  May 
night  touched  her  warm  cheek  and  stirred  the  lace 
about  her  white  shoulders.  "From  the  inside  — 
O  Len, —  I  can't  tell  you  how  it  looks!  I  didn't 
know  there  was  such  glory  in  the  world!" 

"What  do  you  think  this  fellow  has  done?" 
cried  Red  Pepper  Burns,  returning  with  his  host 
at  midnight.  He  towered  in  the  doorway,  looking 


THE  COUNTRY  SURGEON      329 

in  at  his  wife  and  Charlotte.  From  over  his  shoulder 
Leaver  looked  in  also,  smiling.  "He's  arranged 
for  me  to  operate  on  one  of  his  most  critical  cases 
to-morrow  morning  at  his  clinic.  The  country 
surgeon!  Did  you  ever  hear  of  such  effrontery? 
I  may  be  ridden  out  of  town  on  a  rail  by  to-morrow 
noon!" 

"Hear  the  man!  He  looks  like  a  country  surgeon, 
doesn't  he?"  challenged  Leaver,  advancing.  "Lon 
don-made  clothes,  Bond-street  neckwear,  scarfpin 
from  Rome,  general  air  of  confidence  and  calm. 
I  assure  you  I  was  nowhere,  when  the  family  of  my 
patient  saw  the  lately  arrived  specialist  from  Berlin. " 

"It's  not  on  that  patient  Fm  to  do  violence," 
Burns  explained,  at  Ellen's  look  of  astonishment. 
"He's  just  mixing  things  up  on  purpose.  It's  a 
chanty  case  for  mine  —  but  none  the  less  honour,  on 
that  account.  I  have  a  chance  to  try  out  a  certain 
new  method,  adapted  from  one  I  saw  used  for  the 
first  time  abroad.  If  it  doesn't  work  I'll  —  drop 
several  pegs  in  my  own  estimation,  and  in  self- 
confidence." 

"It  will  work,"  said  Leaver,  "in  your  hands. 
The  country  surgeon  is  going  to  surprise  one  or  two 
of  my  colleagues  to-morrow. " 

The  morrow  came.  Charlotte  and  Ellen  drove 
with  the  two  men  to  the  hospital,  and  watched 
them  disappear  within  its  bare  but  kindly  walls. 


330  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

"How  they  can  do  it!"  observed  Charlotte,  as  the 
car  went  on.  "I'm  proud  of  them  that  they  can, 
but  the  eagerness  with  which  they  approach  such 
work,  the  quiet  and  coolness,  and  the  way  they 
bear  the  suspense  afterward  when  the  result  is  still 
doubtful, —  oh,  isn't  it  a  wonderful  profession?" 

At  noon  they  returned  in  the  car  to  the  hospital. 
It  was  some  time  before  Leaver  and  Burns  emerged, 
but  when  they  did  it  was  easy  for  the  two  who 
awaited  them  to  infer  that  all  had  gone  well. 

"It's  a  pity  to  bring  this  suggestive  odour  out  to 
you  untainted  ones,"  said  Burns,  as  he  took  his 
place  opposite  Charlotte,  "but  it  can't  be  helped. 
And  as  we  bring  also  the  news  that  Jack  Leaver  has 
brought  down  the  hospital  roof  with  applause  this 
morning,  you  won't  mind. " 

"What  did  he  do?"  Charlotte  asked,  eagerly. 

Burns  briefly  described  the  case  —  without  de 
scribing  it  at  all  —  after  the  manner  of  the  pro 
fession  when  enlightening  the  laity.  He  brought 
out  clearly,  however,  the  fact  that  Leaver  had 
attacked  with  great  skill  and  success  several  ex 
ceedingly  difficult  problems,  and  that  his  fellow 
surgeons  had  been  generous  enough  to  concede  to 
him  all  the  honour  which  was  his  due. 

"And  now  —  what  about  your  case?"  Charlotte 
asked,  realizing  suddenly  what  the  morning's  experi 
ence  was  to  have  been  to  Burns  himself. 


THE  COUNTRY  SURGEON  331 

"Died  on  the  table,"  said  Burns,  with  entire 
coolness.  His  face  had  sobered  at  the  question, 
but  his  expression  was  by  no  means  crestfallen. 

"Oh,  I'm  so  sorry!"  Charlotte  began,  earnestly. 

But  her  husband  interrupted  her.  "No  con 
dolences  are  due,  dear.  He  gave  a  dying  man  the 
most  merciful  sort  of  euthanasia,  and  at  the  same 
time  demonstrated  a  new  method  as  daring  as  it 
was  triumphant.  With  a  case  taken  a  month 
earlier  it  would  have  saved  a  life.  The  demonstra 
tion  is  a  contribution  to  science.  If  he  received 
no  applause  it  was  because  we  don't  applaud  in  the 
presence  of  death,  but  there  was  not  a  man  there 
who  didn't  realize  that  in  certain  lines  the  country 
surgeon  could  give  them  a  long  handicap  and  still 


win." 


Burns  looked  out  of  the  window  without  speaking. 
His  sea-tanned  face  showed  a  deeper  shade  under 
Leaver's  praise.  Leaver  himself  smiled  at  the 
averted  profile  of  his  friend,  and  went  on,  while 
Ellen  looked  at  him  as  if  he  had  given  her  something 
which  money  could  not  buy. 

"I  wish,"  said  John  Leaver,  laying  a  firm-knit 
hand  on  Burns's  knee,  "you'd  come  to  Baltimore, 
Red.  Between  us  we'd  do  some  things  pretty  well 
worth  doing.  Without  undue  conceit  I  think  I 
could  promise  you  a  backing  to  start  on  that  would 
give  you  a  place  in  a  twelvemonth  that  couldn't  be 


332  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

taken  away  from  you  in  a  decade.  Why  not?  It's 
a  beautiful  city  to  live  in.  Your  wife  is  a  South 
erner,  born  and  bred;  it  would  be  home  to  her 
among  our  people.  My  wife  and  I  care  more  for 
your  friendship  than  for  that  of  any  other  people 
on  earth.  What  is  friendship  for,  if  not  to  make 
the  most  of?" 

Burns  turned  and  looked  at  him,  then  at  his  wife, 
then  back  at  Leaver.  There  was  a  strange  expression 
in  his  hazel  eyes;  they  seemed  suddenly  on  fire 
beneath  the  heavy  dark  eyebrows.  He  took  off 
his  hat  and  ran  his  hand  through  his  coppery  thick 
locks.  Then: 

"Are  you  serious,  Jack?"  he  questioned.  "Or  are 
you  trying  the  biggest  kind  of  a  bluff?" 

"Absolutely  serious.  How  should  I  be  anything 
else?  You  taught  me  certain  values  up  at  your 
home  last  summer  —  you  and  Mrs.  Burns.  One 
was,  as  I  have  said,  the  worth  of  a  big,  true  friend 
ship.  I've  been  thinking  of  this  thing  a  long  time. 
It's  not  the  result  of  your  performance  this  morning. 
If  you  had  failed  entirely  in  that  particular  attempt 
my  faith  in  you  would  not  have  been  shaken  a 
particle,  nor  my  desire  to  have  you  associated  with 
me  here.  But  there's  no  denying  that  what  you 
did  this  morning  would  easily  make  an  entering 
wedge  for  you.  Why  not  take  advantage  of  it? 
Will  you  think  it  over?" 


THE  COUNTRY  SURGEON      333 

Burns  looked  again  at  his  wife.  Her  eyes  held 
an  expression  as  beautiful  as  it  was  inscrutable. 
He  could  not  read  it. 

He  turned  back  to  Leaver.  "Yes,  we'll  think  it 
over,"  he  said  briefly.  Then  he  looked  out  of  the 
window  again.  "What's  the  name  of  this  park?" 
he  asked. 

The  conversation  veered  to  follow  his  lead.  It  was 
not  resumed  during  the  drive  home,  nor  again  that 
day,  between  the  four.  It  cannot  be  denied  that 
the  subject  was  discussed  by  John  Leaver  and 
Charlotte  through  varying  degrees  of  hopefulness 
and  enthusiasm.  As  for  Burns  and  Ellen 

In  their  own  quarters  that  night  Burns  threw 
a  plump  silk  couch-pillow  upon  the  floor  at  Ellen's 
feet,  and  himself  upon  it,  by  her  knee,  as  she  sat  in 
a  big  chair  by  the  open  window.  She  was  still 
wearing  the  Parisian-made  gown  of  the  evening, 
with  which  she  had  delighted  the  eyes  of  them  all. 
It  was  the  one  such  gown  she  had  allowed  herself 
to  bring  home,  treating  herself  to  its  beauty  for  its 
own  sake,  rather  than  because  she  could  find  much 
use  for  it  in  her  quiet  home. 

Burns  put  up  one  hand  and  gently  smoothed  the 
silken  fabric  upon  Ellen's  knee. 

"This  is  a  beauty  of  a  frock,"  said  he.  "I 
can't  tell  you  what  you  look  like  in  it;  I've  been 
trying  to  find  a  simile  all  the  evening.  Yet  it's 


334  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

not  the  clothes  that  become  you;  you  become  the 
clothes. " 

"Thank  you.  That's  a  dear  compliment  —  from 
a  husband." 

"It's  sincere.  You've  worn  such  clothes  a  lot, 
in  your  life,  before  I  knew  you.  You  are  used  to 
them  —  at  home  in  them.  If  we  came  to  Baltimore, 
and  I  made  good,  you  would  have  plenty  of  use  for 
dresses  like  this.  You  would  queen  it,  here." 

She  smiled,  shaking  her  head.  "Taking  one's 
place  in  society  in  any  Southern  city  isn't  quite 
such  a  foregone  conclusion,  dear,"  she  said.  "Not 
for  strangers  from  the  North. " 

"With  the  Leavers  to  vouch  for  us,  and  your  own 
personality,  I  don't  imagine  it  would  be  a  matter 
of  tremendous  difficulty.  Even  the  country  surgeon 
could  get  along  without  smashing  many  usages, 
under  your  tuition.  Besides,  you  have  the  acquaint 
ance  of  some  of  the  —  what  do  they  call  them  ?  — 
'best  people,'  was  the  term,  I  believe,  Jack  used 
to  me.  It's  a  curious  phrase,  by  the  way,  isn't  it? 
Doesn't  mean  at  all  what  it  says!" 

"Not  quite  —  always." 

He  looked  at  her.  "Would  you  like  to  come?" 
he  asked,  bluntly. 

"What  about  you?" 

"I  would  rather  you  answered  first." 

"I  decline  to  answer  first.     The  offer  is  made  to 


THE  COUNTRY  SURGEON  335 

you,  not  me.  You  are  the  head  of  the  house,  the 
breadwinner.  It  is  for  you  to  decide." 

"I  can't  decide  without  reference  to  you." 

"You  needn't.  When  you  tell  me  what  you  want 
I  will  tell  you  what  I  want. " 

He  was  silent  for  a  little.  Then  suddenly  he  got 
to  his  feet,  walked  up  and  down  the  room  a  few 
times,  and  came  back  to  stand  before  her. 

"My  little  wife,"  he  said,  "if  I  thought  you 
would  be  happier " 

"I  shouldn't." 

"Are  you  sure?" 

"Absolutely.  If  you  wanted  very  much  to  come 
it  would  influence  me,  of  course.  But  doubting 
that " 

"Why  do  you  doubt  it?  Shouldn't  I  be  lacking 
in  ambition  if  I  failed  to  take  advantage  of  such 
a  chance?  It  is  a  chance,  Ellen, —  the  chance 
of  a  lifetime.  Jack  means  precisely  what  h"e  says, 
and  he  could  give  me  such  a  backing  as  would  insure 
me  a  tremendous  start." 

"Just  the  same,  Red,  you  don't  want  to  come!" 

"No,  I  don't,"  he  owned,  bluntly.  "But  why 
don't  I?  Is  something  wrong  with  me?" 

"Not  at  all.  You  have  made  a  large  place  for 
yourself  at  home;  you  do  all  any  man  could  do  any 
where.  And  you  are  happy  there.  You  wouldn't 
be  happy  here,  because  you  would  have  to  alter  your 


336  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

simple  way  of  living.  And  if  you  were  not  happy, 
neither  should  I  be.  Why  should  we  change  con 
ditions  in  which  we  are  both  entirely  content,  and 
in  which  you  are  accomplishing  just  as  much  benefit 
to  humanity  as  you  could  anywhere? " 

"Ah,  but  that's  the  question.  Couldn't  I  accom 
plish  more  here?" 

"Is  human  life  more  valuable  here  than  there?" 

"Not  a  whit." 

"Could  you  save  more  of  it?" 

"I  doubt  it." 

"We  should  have  to  leave  Sunny  Farm."  She 
looked  up  at  him  with  a  smile. 

"We  should."  He  shook  his  head.  "You  would 
be  sorry  to  do  that?" 

"So  sorry  that  I  can't  possibly  think  of  it.  Dear, 
—  make  your  decision!" 

"I  will.     We  will  stay  where  we  are. " 

He  gathered  her  close  and  kissed  her  tenderly. 

"A  place  for  everything,  and  everything  in  its 
place,"  he  quoted  once  more.  "The  place  for  Jack 
and  Charlotte  is  here  —  unquestionably.  The  place 
for  Ellen  and  Red  is  there.  I  believe  it.  Jack's 
offer  didn't  shake  my  belief  for  a  minute,  as  far  as  I 
am  concerned.  It  did  put  into  my  mind  the  question 
whether  I  ought  not  to  make  the  change  for  your 
sake." 

"I  don't  believe,"  she  said  slowly,  "that  a  man 


THE  COUNTRY  SURGEON      337 

is  often  called  upon  to  leave  the  place  where  he  can 
be  most  useful,  on  account  of  his  wife's  tastes  or 
preferences  —  providing  nothing  more  serious  is 
involved.  And,  when  her  tastes  and  preferences 
are  on  his  side  of  the  question,  there  can  be  no 
doubt  at  all.  You  may  be  at  rest,  Red,  for  I'm 
sure  I'm  happiest  to  live  your  life  with  you,  just 
as  it  is  best  for  you  to  live  it.  And  I  love  my  country 
surgeon  so  well  I  don't  want  him  made  over  into 
anything  else.  I  can't  believe  he'd  be  so  satisfactory 
in  any  other  shape!" 

Red  Pepper  Burns  gently  released  himself  from  his 
wife's  arms,  walked  over  to  the  window,  and  stood 
there  looking  out  into  the  thick  branches  of  a  mag 
nolia  tree,  the  ends  of  which  came  so  close  he  could 
almost  put  out  a  hand  into  the  night  and  touch 
them.  There  was  suddenly  upon  him  a  deep  realiza 
tion  of  just  how  much  her  words  meant.  He  felt 
unworthy  of  a  love  like  that,  even  though  he  knew 
that  all  there  was  of  him  to  give  was  wholly  hers. 

She  stood,  motionless,  looking  after  him,  her  eyes 
touched  with  a  lovely  light,  but  she  did  not  move. 
And,  presently,  when  he  had  conquered  the  curious 
stricture  which  had  unexpectedly  attacked  his 
throat,  he  turned  and  saw  her  there,  an  exquisite 
figure  in  the  French  gown  which  she  could  seldom 
have  occasion  to  wear  where  she  had  chosen  to  live 
out  her  life  with  him.  Both  understood  that  the 


338  MRS.  RED  PEPPER 

decision  they  had  made  was  made  for  a  lifetime, 
as  such  decisions  are. 

"I  believe  I  could  take  it  better,"  said  he,  some 
what  unsteadily,  "if  you  weren't  wearing  that 
confounded  dress.  It  makes  me  feel  like  what 
Jim  Macauley  dubbed  me  once  —  a  Turk.  Who 
am  I,  that  I  should  keep  you  hidden  away  in  my 
little  old  brick  house?" 

She  turned  and  caught  up  a  long  gauzy  scarf  of 
white  silk  with  heavy  fringed  ends.  She  drew  it 
lightly  about  her  shoulders,  veiling  the  delicate  flesh 
from  his  sight.  Then  she  flung  one  end  of  the 
scarf  up  over  her  head  and  face,  and  came  toward 
him,  her  dark  eyes  showing  mistily  through  the 
drapery,  her  lips  smiling. 

"I'm  not  sure  I  don't  like  being  guarded  by  my 
Turk,  Red,"  she  said.  " And  — -  about  the  frock." 
She  came  closer  still,  standing  before  him  with 
downbent  head,  and  speaking  low,  through  the 
veiling,  silken  gauze.  "Please  don't  mind  about 
that.  I'm  going  to  leave  it  behind  with  Charlotte. 
I  shall  not  care  to  wear  it.  When  next  May  comes 
I  hope  I  shall  be  wearing  only  simple  frocks  that  — 
little  hands  can't  spoil!" 

With  a  low  ejaculation  he  tore  off  the  scarf,  seizing 
her  head  in  both  his  hands  and  gently  forcing  her 
face  upward  that  he  might  look  into  it.  For  a 
minute  his  eyes  questioned  hers,  then 


THE  COUNTRY  SURGEON  339 

"And  you're  happy  about  it?"  he  asked  of  her, 
breathlessly. 

"I  was  never  so  happy  in  my  life.  .  .  . 
O  Red  — are  you  so  glad  as  that?" 

"I  think  I've  been  waiting  for  that  all  my  life," 
confessed  Red  Pepper  Burns. 

THE    END 


THE  COUNTRY  LUX   PRESS,  GARDEN  CITY,  K.  Y. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 
BERKELEY 

Return  to  desk  from  which  borrowed. 
This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 


20Apr'6tA| 
REC'D  LD 

APR  13  191 
FEB2   '65  C 
REC'D  LD 

jHH2b'65-10W 


LD  21-100m-7,'52(A2528sl6)476 


YB  39705 


1)80487 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


